The Broken Road
by IsabelleRose
Summary: Hale-shmale," Dorothy dismissed. "You're young Miss Relena! Live a little! Explore!" She put a hand on Heero's muscular arm. "Why not settle down with Heero?" Ch8: What kind of reception awaits Heero and Relena? 1xR, sorta. Don't own GW.
1. The Afterlife

**The Broken Road**

**Chapter 1: The After-life**

Heero sat in his room, typing at that insanely rapid pace of his, a smirk on his face.

"Watcha doin', hot stuff?" came a feminine voice from the couch. She'd been absorbed in his tv for at least an hour by now. He'd tuned out the noise of whatever trashy reality show she was watching- Survivor: Pluto, or something- and his full attention was on his computer.

"Hn."

"Baby, come watch tv with me," she instructed, turning to glance at the back of his head. "You're all work and no play."

He ignored her for the time being. She would get over it as soon as the commercial break ended. Then she wouldn't harass him again until the next commercial break. It wasn't that he was a cold person, not at all, his focus simply rested somewhere else for the time being, and Heero hated distractions. Besides, this _wasn't_work. He wasn't sure if it classified as play, but he definitely wouldn't file it under "Mission" in his brain.

"Honey, you never pay attention to me anymore. You're so busy with all this work, trying to graduate in record time, and you're neglecting me," she harped, muting the tv- as if it distracted _him_ from listening to her. The nerve.

"I'm not doing school work," he muttered in his deep, matter-of-fact voice. She huffed angrily and came around the couch to look over his shoulder.

"What the _hell_ is this?" she fumed.

"Gloria-" Heero began, but his hypersensitive girlfriend wanted none of it.

"I support you _every day_in your efforts to become a neuro-surgeon! I've respected your need to study, your need for solitude, and your need be an ass. After all we've been through! After all I've put up with, you're _cheating_ on me?" she screeched. His cell phone vibrated and he answered it.

"Heya, buddy!"

"Duo, now is not the-"

"Is that _her_?!" Gloria wrenched the phone from Heero's hand.

"Who do you think you are, you skank?! Really! NOBODY knows Heero better than me. You think you can replace me with your loose lifestyle and just crawl into bed with _my _Heero?! When he won't even let _me _in bed with him, yet? How DARE you?! I swear you better flee far away because if I EVER catch your skanky-hoe ass anywhere near here I'll- I'll- I'll turn you into a man!" She finished, face red, chest heaving.

"Um. Maybe I should call back later..." Duo responded hesitantly. "Yeah... Tell Heero I called to wish him luck on his exam. Bye!"

Gloria dropped the phone on the floor in shock.

"You over-reacted," Heero pointed out. "It's just an email to a friend I've known for a long time."

"Oh," she murmured, too surprised to argue. "Who...?"

"That was Duo. He's an old friend of mine, too. I've told you about him, remember?" She nodded, dumbly. "Let's watch tv," Heero offered, bravely. He led her to the couch and sat next to her, letting her snuggle up against him for comfort.

_Dear Relena. Relena. Dear. Dear. Dear._Gloria's mind was in overdrive, imagining this intruder into her perfect life with her perfect boyfriend. She watched quietly as Heero deftly returned to his favorite channel and the only reason he owned a tv- ESUN-LIVE. _Who could this woman be?_ Gloria asked herself. She thought back to the few lines she'd read before she exploded:

_Dear Relena,  
__It's been a while, hasn't it? Funny how much there is to say to you- funny because we both know I'm a man of few words. I supposed we've both changed drastically over the years, though. Our emails prove it- the growth of our relationship proves it._

That was the line that had her fuming. Their "relationship"? Whoever this _Relena_ person was, she was going to feel Gloria's wrath.

Heero contentedly rubbed Gloria's shoulder as he took in the news. Some senator was talking about changes. After his interview, the senate came back on screen. The Vice Foreign Minister was at the podium, lecturing away about peaceful solutions to the latest minor dispute. Things had been fairly quiet since the last war. Very few people wanted another war- those that did were quickly brought down by the Preventers. Gloria couldn't figure out why Heero was so interested in politics when nothing ever happened.

"Baby," she whined, getting a sliver of his attention, "Can we watch something else?"

"After this," he stated, his eyes glued to the screen.

"After _what?!_ What is it that you find so interesting about this channel? Nothing happens. Nobody does anything!"

Heero just grunted. His girlfriend was terribly wrong. He hadn't needed to kill anybody since he'd vowed not to. That meant a LOT was going on. People were doing things. People were working to maintain peace, and while it seemed simple when observed from the couch, Heero knew otherwise. Gloria was naive. She didn't understand the work that both ESUN and the Preventers put into keeping people like him out of battles. The peace they had obtained was still an infant, and couldn't be expected to stand on its own yet. It need guidance- the world needed guidance. That was why Heero watched the senate's discussions. That was why he watched Relena. It reassured him that peace would remain.

As Relena stepped off the podium and applause overtook the gathering, Heero allowed himself to change the channel, with only a small smirk. Gloria- still on edge- caught the smirk and immediately challenged it.

"What's so funny?" she shot at him.

"Nothing. She'll never change."

"WHO?" Gloria demanded. Heero handed her the remote and reached up to rub his temple. It amazed him, the affect that one person could have on his physical well-being. Hadn't he fought countless loosing battles? Hadn't he fallen off a cliff? Self-destructed? Then how was it that Gloria could be such a PAIN? "WHO?" she repeated, louder, if possible.

"The VFM."

"Oh. She's just a politician. Don't talk like you know her. It bothers me," Gloria insisted.

Frustrated, Heero rose from the couch and retrieved his cell from the floor. With deliberate steps he crossed to the door and yanked the keys to the apartment from their peg on the wall.

"Where are you going?" Gloria gasped in offense.

"To call back Duo. Someplace quiet." He slammed the door shut behind him.

* * *

"Wow, you sure picked a winner," Duo jabbed, laughing.

"Shut up, Duo. She's not normally this bad," Heero retorted. He sat on a bench in the park. The normalcy of the place always comforted him. No, Gloria wasn't normally a monster-girlfriend, but their relationship had been getting steadily more tense since he'd entered med school.

"How long have you been together?"

"Almost a year. I don't know what's gotten into her. I know I've been busier, but when have I ever been disloyal?" Heero grumbled.

"Why don't you point that out? I can think of millions of examples of your loyalty to a cause- like the time you deactivated all those missiles when I thought you were running away!" Duo exclaimed unhelpfully.

"Duo, she doesn't know about that," Heero stated coolly.

"That's why it's a good example!"

"She doesn't know I was a Gundam pilot," Heero corrected. "She doesn't even know I fought in the war." A hush settled into their conversation. For Duo, it was easier. He had continued his junk-yard business with Hilde after the war. He never had to tell her about his past- she'd been part of it.

"Maybe all those secrets are what cause the lack of trust in your relationship," Duo suggested.

"Not knowing about my past shouldn't cause her to think I'm cheating," Heero countered.

"Where did she come up with the idea, then?"

"She saw me writing an email. She assumed it was romantic."

"What female do you write to?" Duo asked, curious.

"Relena. We've been in touch since the coup d'etat. You know that."

"Oooohhh Yeaaaah!" Duo said. Heero could envision the ex-pilot smacking himself in the head with realization. "Well, are you?"

"Am I what?" Heero asked.

"Cheating on her with Relena, duh!" Duo was taken aback by the booming laugh that erupted from Heero on the other end of the line. Heero's laugh had always shocked Duo, simply because it was so unrestrained. Like Trowa's laugh. When either of them found something _worth_laughing about, they certainly didn't hold back. Once Heero was done laughing, he returned to the conversation.

"Relena and I are just friends. Very good friends. I could never be _involved_ with her. Besides, she's seeing someone right now, too."

"Alright, alright! Then I don't know what to tell you about Glori-undies-in-a-bundle...-a," Duo faltered.

"She'll get over it," Heero assured him with cool indifference.

"Yeah, well, anyhow, I wanted to invite you on a group camping trip. That's the real reason I called earlier," Duo said, suddenly remembering his objective. "Now that I think of it, ask Relena to come, too. It'll be the best Gundam reunion yet!"

"Sure. When?"

"We'll have to figure that out. I guess whenever the circus returns to Earth," Duo mused. "Though, really, since he owns the circus now, he should be able to come whenever he wants."

A tall brunette appeared further along the park path and Heero nearly groaned. Instead he ran a hand through his messy hair and stood up.

"Gloria found me. I'll contact you later." Heero hung up without waiting for a response. As his moody love came stomping towards him he sighed inwardly. _Seriously, Zechs was easier to get along with that she is sometimes_, Heero mused. Then like the man he was, he faced her head on.

* * *

That's all for now. I'm embarking on my first multi-chapter fic. We'll see how it goes. Let me know what you think so far.  
Izzy


	2. Peace Talks

**The Broken Road**

**Chapter 2: Peace Talks**

Relena paced her home office moodily. Hale had called to cancel their dinner plans and she was terribly displeased. She knew he was busy forwarding his career and the current case he was working on was vitally important to him, but a little more notice would have been nice. More than half an hour might have been appreciated, _just maybe_.

Well, might as well take of the dress, then. _Men_, she seethed. There was absolutely nothing that could make this night better. She was determined to sulk all evening before going to bed early. Part of her plan of self-pity would be to get through a mound of paperwork before bed. That way, she'd feel more justified in her misery.

She and Hale had been dating for several months now. He was a shrewd lawyer, and a wonderful gentleman, but sometimes work got in the way of their relationship. She figured he didn't take her very seriously- that's why she was constantly on the back-burner. Alright, so she was barely twenty, but that didn't mean she couldn't be serious. _Honestly_ if she couldn't handle a serious relationship, how did he figure she ran half the universe?

Changing irritably into something more comfortable, the prodigy politician sat down at her computer and settled a stack in front of herself. She sighed. Hale hadn't meant to upset her, and she was sure he'd make it up to her. That didn't change the fact that she'd been truly looking forward to a quiet evening with him. Maybe he was just too much older than her, at thirty-two, to understand her need for a social life. She was too young to stay in every night and he never left her room to change her plans and spend the evening with someone else.

Slumping uncharacteristically, she checked her email for any urgent ESUN news. Instead, an email from her favorite ex-pilot lit up the screen. She'd been positive that she'd be dismal all evening, but she felt herself grinning.

"Alright, Mr. Yuy, I see you still love to prove me wrong," she murmured and opened the email.

She ended up falling asleep with a broad smile on her face- despite having gone through that pile of paperwork. News from her old friend always seemed to have that effect on her.

­­­

* * *

"Darling, I'm sorry about last night," the man in the doorway offerered her a bouquet of roses in penance.

"Oh, Hale! You didn't have to stop by. I know how busy you are, dear," Relena beemed. She was lucky to have such a sweet man in her life. She mentally made a note of telling Heero about this in her next email to him.

"I'll make it up to you," he insisted. The tall, blonde lawyer bent down to kiss her forhead. "How about dinner, tonight?"

"I can't, I've a Green meeting to attend," Relena sighed. She'd love to have dinner with him, but this meeting was important.

"They won't be discussing anything you don't already know," Hale pointed out, "and we haven't had dinner in at least a week. They can live without you."

Relena knew that what Hale said was true, but she simply wasn't willing to skip the meeting for frivolous reasons. She was there to signify her support more than anything else. Hale knew this was an issue she felt strongly about- it wasn't fair for him to push her.

"Hale, not tonight. Soon, I promise," she assured him. Her secretary appeared in the doorway, tenatively.

"Miss Dorlain," she interrupted.

"Yes, Marcy?"

"Senator Walton Edwards is on the line. He says its urgent." Relena nodded and dismissed the secretary.

"I'll call you later, dear," Relena murmured as she went to her desk to speak with the senator. As she turned on the vidphone she saw Hale pantomime putting her roses in water. She gave a subtle nod as she smiled broadly at the senator. Her heart ached as she saw Hale quietly exit.

* * *

An hour later, she was off the phone again and back to her paperwork. Maintaining the peace wasn't always exciting, but she understood how important it was. Her private line buzzed.

"Vice Foreign Minister Dorlain," Relena answered. The mischevieous face of Dorothy Catalonia appeared on the vid screen.

"Miss Relena, what a pleasure," came Dorothy's breathy reply. "It just thrills me every time to hear you answer the phone like that."

"Dorothy, I really don't have time for games right now," Relena remarked sternly. There was a light in the woman's eyes that always meant trouble.

"Oh, I'm sure you've loads of important things to do, but do let's mix business and pleasure this once."

"Alright, I concede," Relena murmured with a soft smile.

"Marvelous! I was wondering whether you planned to attend the legendary Gundam reunion. It's going to be fantastic!"

"How do you know about that?" Relena gasped. She'd only just found out last night in Heero's email.

"Oh, a little birdy told me. Really, Miss Relena, after all this time you still underestimate me!"

"I hadn't really thought about it yet. Heero just mentioned it last night-"

"Last night? Why that's simply scandalous! I love a good scandal! Do tell," Dorothy pounced at the screen in her excitement. Since the end of the war, Dorothy seemed to get her pleasure from a new barrel of bizarre things.

"Last night in his _email_, Dorothy," Relena scolded.

"Oh," she pouted in disappointment. "I'd hoped you two had finally come to your senses about your destinies!" Apparently Dorothy was getting her pleasure from tacky romance novels. Relena rolled her eyes.

"Heero and I are just good friends. How could we possibly harbor any interest in one another?"

"You chased him across the globe! You chased him into space! He's your knight, Miss Relena, surely you haven't abandoned that!"

"Dorothy, please! Surely I _have_. That was so _long_ ago. Heero and I have both grown up since then. He'll always be one of my dearest friends."

Dorothy was drumming her fingers impatiently on her desk at home and positively glaring darts at Relena. She would not have her personal fantasies squashed simply because Relena had become practical!

"Dorothy, you already know about Hale. You're being childish." Dorothy seemed to suddenly remember Relena's significant other and heaved a huge sigh of defeat.

"You win the battle, Miss Relena, but the war's not over, yet." Dorothy disconnected the line and left Relena sitting bemused at her desk.

"Why do I have such eccentric friends?" she muttered.

* * *

The Green meeting ran later than even Relena had predicted. She stumbled into her immaculate apartment around ten, completely exhausted. She felt proud of herself for sticking it out, though. The Chair in charge of the meeting had been truly grateful for Relena's presence.

As Relena kicked off her shoes and rubbed the arch of her left foot, she noticed lights on. How could she have left the lights on all day? So much for her Green ideals. She sighed heavily.

"Hard day?" came the voice of her beloved.

"Hale!" she remembered that he had a spare key to the apartment. As relieved as she was that she hadn't left the lights on, she wasn't especially thrilled to see her boyfriend. "Dear, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd make you dinner and surprise you, darling." He strode towards her and gave her a willing kiss on the mouth. She awkwardly tried to drop her foot while he pressed against her. She supposed he missed her but she wasn't in the mood for romance.

"Thank you, dear," she sighed as they broke away. He took her sigh as a sign of appreciation instead of exasperation.

"Anything for my dove."

He lead her to the dining room. He'd lit candles and a new bouquet of roses sat in her favorite crystal vase. He'd made her favorite dish, she could smell it keeping warm in the oven. She practically collapsed into the chair when he pulled it out for her and she gave him a weak smile of gratitude. Who knows how long he'd been waiting for her to come home, the sweet man.

He brought out their dinner and some wine. Relena wasn't legally old enough to drink, but she indulged now and then- she felt it her right. ESUN had set the drinking age at 23 for the universal standard. Wasn't she as adult as any of them, though?

"Hale, this is wonderful, thank you," Relena breathed. He smiled proudly and reached across to kiss her hand lightly.

"You're welcome, darling."

Hale told her passionately about his latest advances on the Johnson Case, but with the wine and warm food, Relena's eyelids began to droop. She found herself far to drowsy to pay attention to what Hale told her. Finally, he frowned at her.

"You're not listening to a word of this, are you?"

"Oh, Hale, I'm sorry. It's just been a very long day for me. That meeting lasted for five hours and I've had so many phone calls- this really is wonderful of you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he soothed, but he looked put-out.

"I'll make it up to you," she promised. "I really must rest, though. Please, dear."

"Alright. Call me tomorrow." He got up and kissed her forehead. She watched him let himself out and hunched miserably over the table. Leaving the dishes for the morning, she willed herself to her feet and prepared for bed.

_I did tell him I couldn't have dinner tonight._ She sighed, knowing that wasn't enough, and climbed into bed.

* * *

I decided to post the first two chapters together. That way you get to see both sides of the coin. Let me know how you feel about the set up.

Izzy


	3. Reunited

_thanks for the supportive reviews! I hope you guys continue to enjoy my work. I definitely don't want to let you down!!_

**The Broken Road**

**Chapter 3: Reunited**

"Gloria, it's just a couple days." Heero was incredibly frustrated, but his voice barely betrayed that emotion.

"Why can't I come?"

"I said so," Heero ground out. He was attempting to finish a mid-term paper but his girlfriend just would NOT shut up. There were a million reasons she couldn't come. She abhorred nature. She couldn't handle long drives. She would certainly not appreciate Wufei's brazen regard of women, or Trowa's sense of humor. Hilde and Duo would make fun of her. Dorothy would rip her to shreds. Quatre would be WAY too sympathetic - didn't she feel sorry enough for herself without someone on her side? This was a GUNDAM pilot reunion- she didn't even know Heero was a Gundam pilot. He needed time AWAY from her for once, not more time _with_her. He wasn't even sure they were ready for steps like this in their relationship. On top of it all, Relena would be there.

_Relena._

He smirked and a pillow came down on his head. Hn. He'd completely tuned her out. That smirk had probably come with pretty bad timing.

"You think that's funny?"

"No," he replied honestly. How could he think it was funny? He hadn't listened to a word she'd said.

"What are you smirking about, then?"

"I'm looking forward to the reunion." He truly was. Maybe even the sight of Duo.

"You never smirk about seeing me," she accused.

"You never go away," he pointed out.

"Is that what this is about? You're trying to get rid of me?"

"Gloria, I haven't seen my friends in a long time. There are other people in my life besides you."

"You don't want them to meet me. You're ashamed of me!"

"I don't have time for your insanity right now," Heero dismissed. Of course that was the wrong answer. He knew it was the wrong answer, but it didn't matter. He was trying to focus on a mission: his midterm. Gloria was getting in the way of that, and he figured she ought to consider herself lucky that he only verbally bashed her. In the past, when somebody got in the way of a mission, he shot them.

Tactics counted for something in this war, though. Heero had used poor tactics, and the way Gloria bit her bottom lip and clenched her hands told him she was about to cry or leave. Despite how much he loved his girl, he really hoped she would leave.

She cried.

With a low growl, Heero turned to fix his mistake. Nothing was going to be accomplished with her bawling in his apartment. He enveloped his emotional love in his strong arms. He stroked her hair and rocked her gently until her sobs subsided, then he lifted her effortlessly (he's Heero, after all) and relocated to the couch, where he cradled her in his lap.

"Gloria, this trip isn't for you. You wouldn't enjoy it, you wouldn't enjoy my friends, and you'd feel completely out of place the entire time. You can handle me being away for a few days, right?" He tried to soften the tone of his voice, although he was terribly irritated.

"You're ashamed of me," she whined.

"No, Gloria, I'm not." Heero ran a hand through his hair, taking a cautious breath. "I just don't think this is the best circumstance for you to be meeting the gang. If you really want to meet them, we can start in smaller doses. Okay? I'll talk to Duo about a visit when I see him."

"Really?" she asked. Her eyes brightened and the girl that Heero loved shone through. He smirked at her.

"Would I lie to you?" He bent to kiss her forehead. "I have to finish this paper. I'm sorry. How about I take you home?"

She pouted. Gloria hated being pushed aside, but Heero was so one-track minded. She sighed, knowing he wouldn't relent when it came to school.

"Alright."

He lifted them both to their feet, and gave her an extra squeeze. He wanted things to be alright between them, but Gloria was always around, always nagging, and Heero was tired. _Heero_ who had gone for days without sleep on a mission. What would Doctor J think of this?

"You know you can call me whenever you need me," he reassured. She just nodded as he led her to the parking lot. The radio played softly as Heero drove. Gloria was still sulking, huddled in the passenger seat, but there was nothing he could do about that right now, short of buying her something expensive, which he had no intention of doing. When he had finally dropped her off at her own apartment and returned home, he was exhausted.

_Five hours until the deadline_. Heero slammed his fist on his desk. He had always been one to act on his emotions. His hands flew to the keypad and he pounded away furiously to make up for lost time. Failure was unacceptable.

"It's just a few days, Hale," Relena assured him.

"Dove, those are the few days when I'm going to need you the most!"

"You don't need me at all. You're going to win this case regardless of whether I'm in the peanut gallery or not. Besides, I deserve some time off. No offense, dear, but, I don't want to spend my vacation in a courtroom. I want to get away for a little while."

"You know how much this means to me, " Hale restated.

"I have an equally high-pressure job, and I need you to support _my_needs sometimes," she pleaded, slapping her palms against the granite counter top that stood between them.

"Darling, I am constantly supporting you. This is the one thing I've asked of you and you're too caught up in your 'needs' to relent."

"Sending me flowers for every occasion isn't support. It's frivolity! These people are incredibly important to me. I haven't seen some of them in years, and I've known them since long before you came into the picture. I'm going to spend a few days with them and if you can't handle that, then leave," Relena concluded.

"Fine." Hale turned his back on her and headed self-righteously towards the door. Hurt and anger overcame Relena. She crossed her arms and faced away from him. She heard him pause, knew he was turning to look at her, and she tucked her chin closer to her chest.

_I won't cry_, she told herself._ Adults don't cry over this sort of thing._

"Darling," he murmured, willing her to look at him. He didn't want her leaving with this hanging over them. He heard her sniffle slightly, and his whole heart melted. His girl was so sweet, so young. It wasn't fair for him to be so hard on her. She hadn't learned the ways of the world yet.

His long strides brought him back to her side in an instant. He brought his fingers up, cautiously, to smooth over her hair. She leaned slightly into his touch.

"Hale, I don't want to fight." Tears escaped down her cheeks. Her voice cracked and she hung her head in shame.

"Darling, something like this couldn't come between us," he soothed. She just nodded, not really believing him. Maybe this job of hers really _was_ too much pressure, he mused. He didn't know if she was really capable of the strains being placed on her. He made up his mind. "You do need this time away, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes," she choked. He pulled her against his sturdy frame and crossed his arms around her.

"Then we won't fight. You'll keep your phone on you, right? I'll keep you updated on everything that happens in the courtroom. You won't miss a beat," he announced. She sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Hale. You're so good to me," she managed. She honestly didn't want to hear every detail. She was more than happy to miss _several_beats in this case, but as long as he let her go, it didn't matter. She missed her friends. Even Dorothy, who called regularly, would be a welcome sight. She never got out anymore. Maybe it was her relationship with Hale. Maybe it was the demands of work. Whatever it was, Relena wanted a chance to reunite with the gang. To check up on the irritable Wufei, the contemplative Trowa, the dear Quatre, the ridiculous Duo, and of course, Heero.

Just plain Heero.

Once Hale released her, he left her in peace so she could pack. Instead, she crawled into her bed and fell asleep. She'd been so tired lately. Everything was weighing down on her and it was creating tension between her and Hale. She pulled her teddy close and yawned.

"Don't worry Ichi, I'll pack soon. I just need to rest my eyes."

She was out in a heartbeat.

This was unacceptable. He'd finally gotten Gloria out of his hair and now he was so bogged down by thoughts of his relationship that he couldn't concentrate properly. This was why Dr. J had trained him against such things. Emotions only ever got in the way. He needed to clear his head. He hurriedly searched for a distraction. He dug out the email Relena had sent a week ago and quickly began to reread.

_Dear Heero,_

_I'm so glad that we're able to cherish one another's friendship. I'm glad that we've stayed friends through thick and thin- and it has certainly been thick. Sometimes, I think you're the only friend I have. That's foolish. Of course I have Dorothy and Hale and the others. It's just that, you're the one I can talk to no matter what. You're the one who listens, and cares. You're the friend that I draw the most strength from, and for that I am truly grateful._

_Yes, I'd love to join you all for the camping trip. I'll definitely be there. Oh! I wanted to tell you about Hale getting me flowers. He wanted to make up for cancelling dinner plans. He's such a thoughtful man. I will NEVER tell him that my favorite flowers are actually lilies. To think of how many roses that man has bought me, its unbelievable! Well, it's the thought that counts, right?_

Heero smirked at his friend's love dilemmas. Roses versus lilies? _Women_. He took a breath and realized that the tension was gone. The email had worked its magic- Relena's words always did. Wasn't there proof of that all over the universe? Now that the pounding in his head had stopped, Heero returned to his mid-term with all the energy of a warrior.

_Three hours until the deadline. Thank you, Relena._He only had a page left to write. He'd make it with no problems. Heero didn't like to count his chickens before they hatched, but he could feel a _Mission Accomplished_ coming on.

Waking refreshed, Relena bounded from bed to begin packing for the trip. They were headed for the Lakes. Duo claimed that it was the best place on Earth, but Relena knew he preferred his scrapping business in space to anything on Earth.

Since the creation of the colonies, the population on Earth had thinned drastically. Many of the city dwellers took the opportunity to explore the more risky existence. The cities were forced to clean themselves up considerably in order to coax suburbanites to move in. The cities on Earth remained incredibly clean from that point on. The well kept cities drew the populations in closer to one another, and rural living became more rural than it had in years, due to the shift. Many suburbs, no longer needed, had been plowed down and replaced with parks.

Naturalists had seized the space age as an opportunity to heal their planet. More and more parks were restored, more land was fenced off for preservation, and more green began to spread. Relena knew that the Lakes region hadn't had the densest population to begin with. Now, it was one of the quietest places on Earth.

She couldn't wait.

Once everything was in order, Relena tucked her hair behind her ears and let out a sigh.

_This will be good for me. Hale will manage without me._

Then she hefted her duffel bag over her shoulder and descended from her apartment to the streets. She hailed a cab and made her way to the airport. Tension rolled from her body the further and further she got from the city. In a few hours, she'd be landing in the Central Lake Region Airport. That's where all of her friends would be meeting. Duo had insisted that they meet at the airport then take a bus out to where they'd be camping. He wanted to do things the "classy" way. He also insisted on being the person to drive the bus.

With a private smile, Relena thanked the taxi driver, paid him, and carried her duffel into the airport. _Just a few hours._

Heero was glad that the rendezvous point was within a few hours' drive. He really didn't like flying. It made him miss Wing Zero. As soon as he got out of school, Heero planned to get himself a private jet so that he could be the one in charge again. It wasn't that he wanted to return to the war. Heero had spent most of his life as a soldier, and piloting offered him a sense of familiarity. He couldn't help longing for what he knew.

He indulged in a horrified groan when he saw a certain braided maniac dancing on top of a hideous orange charter bus. His friend certainly knew how to make a scene. Wufei stood below him, shouting about dishonor and hurling rocks at his fellow ex-pilot. Hilde was holding her stomach, laughing uncontrollably. Heero pulled into a parking space near the bus and stepped out of his jeep. He tossed his duffel bag over his shoulder and smirked in the direction of his friends.

"Heya, Heero!" Duo called, causing Wufei to whip around only to be hit in the back of the head with one of the rocks he'd thrown at Duo. Duo collapsed on top of the bus, laughing like a maniac. Heero just shook his head and strode towards the growing party.

"Of all the injustice!" Wufei howled.

"Why don't you just climb the ladder and knock him off?" Trowa asked indifferently. It seemed like the only logical strategy to him. Wufei was on the bus in a flash, strangling the insufferable pilot.

"How have you been?" Heero asked Trowa, dropping his bag unceremoniously on the ground.

"I've been well." The two pilots exchanged a glance of camaraderie and returned their gazes to their brawling friends atop the bus. Hilde had stopped laughing, and she now looked slightly worried.

"Trowa," she ventured, "Wufei wouldn't _really_ kill him, would he?"

They all stood in silence, contemplating that for a moment. Then a familiar voice hailed them from the right.

"Oh no! Somebody better break them up! What's the sense in fighting each other?" Quatre came jogging up to them, his luggage forgotten in the middle of the parking lot behind him. With a sigh, Trowa catapulted himself to the roof of the orange bus, and with a sharp tug, separated the two.

"Heero, how are you?" Quatre exclaimed, crisis over. Before Heero could answer, a huffy blonde woman appeared near Quatre's bags.

"Oh, I should have stabbed you harder," she grumbled, loud enough for them to hear. Quatre blushed.

"Miss Dorothy lives near me, and I offered to give her a lift here. I um..." he glanced at the bags he'd dropped and the friend he'd neglected, "I'd better pick those up." He trotted off in the direction of his foil.

Duo appeared at Heero's side, panting. Hilde was reprimanding Wufei- who fought back with vigor.

"Long time, no see, buddy," Duo clapped him on the back.

"Good to see you, too," Heero rested his hand on Duo's shoulder. While Heero had mellowed over the years, it seemed that Duo had continued to become more extreme. Maybe there was something wrong with the oxygen on his colony. His braid flopped as he turned to Trowa, who had also rejoined them.

"Who's running the circus?"

"Catherine."

"Next time find someone else, and she can join us, too!" Duo decided.

"Duo," Heero warned, "Catherine hates us. She still thinks we corrupted her 'poor' Trowa." Trowa nodded his grim confirmation. It hadn't been easy to get away.

"Well, why isn't Sally here?" Duo pressed. Wufei stopped his bickering with Hilde to turn on the braided one.

"You leave Sally out of this!"

"Did he knock her up?" Duo whispered. Both Heero and Trowa neatly sidestepped as Wufei came flying through the air to tackle Maxwell.

"Gentlemen, really, is that any way to act in front of a lady," Dorothy sniffed. Her eyes were alight with the proximity of the battle.

"Who invited _you_," Duo accused with a finger jab.

"DUO!" Hilde exclaimed. "As a matter of fact, _I_ did!"

Quatre shuffled up, laden with more bags than anyone could need for a four-day weekend. He looked defeated.

"Quatre! Hey, buddy! When did you get here?" Duo crossed to slap Quatre on the back, causing him to drop two of his bags.

"Hello, Duo," Quatre winced.

"Who are we still missing?" Trowa asked quietly. Dorothy gave Heero a meaningful look and all eyes turned towards him.

"Sorry I'm late," called Relena as she rushed towards them. She froze. "HEERO!" she exclaimed. His face lit up at the same time hers did and he rushed to meet her. He roughly embraced her and spun her around several times. They both laughed when he finally set her down. Their friends stared.

"Relena, how are you? Have you been sleeping? How was your flight?"

"Oh, Heero, look at how tall you've gotten! How were your midterms? I meant to email you. How is Gloria?"

The group was stunned into silence. Though Heero had opened up considerably since the end of the war, none of them had ever seen him so, so _happy_. He was grinning like a child as Relena ruffled his hair and the two of them both talked at once. Nobody else could even follow the conversation.

"I'm fine, yes tired."

"Growth spurt."

"It's been getting harder."

"I finished all the work on time."

"Flying is flying, you know. Nothing extraordinary happened."

"Gloria's fine- irritable, but fine."

"Hale wasn't happy either."

"If she knew..."

"If he knew..."

"You need to sleep. What's causing all this stress?"

"I hope she's not hindering your school work."

"Not at all, any lilies yet?"

"Oh, don't. That's cruel. It's work."

"Wow. When's the last time you saw one another?" Duo interrupted, waving his arms between the two of them to get them to separate.

"Eight months ago," they intoned in unison. Dorothy giggled in the background and sighed. Relena turned to glare at her.

"Let's go, it's a long drive," Trowa stated indifferently. Heero picked up Relena's bag and the two of them continued to chatter quietly as the gang loaded the bus.

"Alrighty! All aboard the Maxwell Express- aka Your Ride to Hell!" Duo shouted cheerfully. Everyone boarded the bus in an orderly fashion and Duo hopped into the driver's seat. They were finally on the road.

Relena was laughing loudly at something Heero had told her, and he didn't seem to be sharing her amusement. Dorothy, who'd been trying to eavesdrop subtly from across the aisle finally gave up and leaned in. Quatre turned his head in interest, too. Hilde popped her head up over the seat to see what the commotion was about.

"What is it, Miss Relena?" Dorothy demanded. Relena waved a hand helplessly as she continued to laugh.

"Sure, laugh it up," Heero grumbled. "If it were Hale, it wouldn't be quite so funny, would it?"

Relena sobered up enough to glare at him.

"Hale would never resort to tactics like that. He's far too mature," she defended.

"Old man," Heero teased with a straight face.

"Hmph! Well then, who wants to know about Heero's love life?" Relena said, playing dirty. Even Wufei leaned in closer.

"Heero's been dating a girl named Gloria for almost a year, now, and she started out sweet, but she's grown fangs. I guess she saw him talking to another girl the other day, where was this?" She glanced at him but continued on without his input.

"Somewhere on campus. Anyhow, so he's talking to this _other woman_and Gloria comes stomping over, breathing fire. Before either of them can say anything, Gloria goes off on this tirade about possession and skanky-hoes and the like. She keeps screaming and threatening to rip this woman's hair out or turn her into a man or trash her car with gallons of nail polish and _finally_when she's out of breath and Heero no longer has to restrain her, he turns to the woman and says-"

Here Relena paused for effect and glanced at Heero out of the corner of her eye. He rolled his eyes- used to drama- and she continued,

"-'Professor Whitmore, this is my girlfriend Gloria. Perhaps we can go over my paper at a different time? It seems there's something else I need to attend to at the moment.' Then he drags the shocked and embarrassed Gloria away, while everyone in the near vicinity laughs their heads off."

Everyone in the near vicinity of him _now_was laughing, too. Wufei actually wiped a tear of mirth from his eye. Trowa's booming laugh shook them all. Heero seemed nonplussed.

"Yeah, she's crazy, alright," Duo piped up. "She accused me of being the other woman on the phone once, too!" They turned to look at him.

"Duo! You're supposed to be driving the bus!" Hilde shouted in panic, bringing her fist down on his head several times.

"Relax, Hil! I have it under control. I installed the Zero system so it could drive itself. Jeez!"

Nobody was quite sure what to make of that, so despite several uneasy glances, nothing was said.

"He hasn't slept with her, either," Duo offered. Heero glared at him. "What?! She told me herself, on the phone. 'Don't you sleep with my Heero before I have!' or something like that."

"That's none of your business," Heero warned.

"I don't blame you, buddy," Duo comforted. "If you did, she might NEVER go away." Heero sighed. That was probably true. She was so attached already. Relena had to giggle at that, despite how scandalized she was that Duo had introduced such a topic for public discussion.

"Well, I'm sure someone as legendary as Heero Yuy would have no trouble finding a replacement," Dorothy breathed. Quatre gave her a nervous glance, like he knew she was about to start trouble. "Miss Relena, didn't you say you were single?"

Heero smirked at that. While his girlfriend was high maintenance, Relena's significant other was constantly spoiling her- showering her with gifts and expensive dinners. No, she definitely wasn't single. Everyone within a 50 mile radius of Relena could tell she was spoken for. Hale liked to mark his territory with roses.

"Dorothy, you and I _just_talked about Hale last week!" Relena scolded. Dorothy only shrugged.

"Hale-shmale," Dorothy dismissed. "You're young Miss Relena! Live a little! Explore!" She put a hand on Heero's muscular arm. "Why not settle down with Heero?"

"Didn't you _just _say that I should live a little? Now you're telling me to settle down," Relena pointed out, irritably. Just then, her phone rang.

"Hale! I was just talking about you. Of course good things, dear... Oh, nonsense... The _whole _morning's proceedings? Dear, I don't have time to listen to that... Well, yes... Can't you just give me the abbreviated version?... Alright..." Relena rose and pushed her way through the crowd of friends. She made her way to the back of the bus and settled against a window.

Dorothy slid into the seat next to Heero.

"Tell me about this Hale person," she cooed, eyes gleaming mischievously.

"Hn."

"Is he an honorable man?" Wufei asked. Heero thought about that.

"He's a lawyer."

Wufei scowled.

"Hale adores Relena," Heero finally revealed, knowing they wouldn't go away until they heard more. "He smothers her in flowers, chocolates, jewelery, and fancy restaurants. His career comes between him and Relena often, but he always makes up for it with some new gift or surprise. He wrote her a love poem and hid it in her carry-on on her last trip away. Hopelessly romantic, but he takes care of her." Dorothy sniffed.

"I don't personally enjoy being _smothered_by anything, but perhaps Miss Relena feels differently."

"Dorothy, you always tell me about the gifts men send you," Hilde tattled.

"That's entirely different! Those are prizes that I win with each round of the game that I play, and I am a Master at the game," Dorothy explained, starry-eyed.

"Chess?" Quatre asked, hopefully. She gave him a scathing look and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Then her eyes lit up with an idea.

"Would you like to play the game with me, Quatre?" she purred. Being the kind person he was, Quatre agreed without second thought- having complete faith in Dorothy.

"He's doomed," Trowa murmured, without looking up from his book. Dorothy giggled, flattered. She moved to sit next to Quatre and immediately began an in depth conversation with him. Relieved, Heero slid out of his seat and moved towards Relena at the back of the bus.

"We're stopping for lunch," he stated, sitting down next to her.

"I have to go, Hale. The bus driver just told me we're stopping for lunch. You'll be fine! Bye!" She sighed in relief as she hung up her phone.

"Bus driver?" Heero mused, raising an eyebrow.

"He thinks I'm with a group of my old girl friends. You know how testy he can get. I certainly wasn't going to tell him I was hanging out with the ex-Gundam pilots!"

Heero just smirked and settled back in his seat. She examined his face, taking in all the changes since she'd last seen him. Comparing it to the first time they'd met. Who'd have known they would end up such close friends?

"It's good to see you again, Heero."

"You, too, Relena."

­­­­

So, that's the story so far. I've got lots of ideas for where this is going next, but they're out of order. It's sorta a mystery to even me. Catch ya' later!

Izzy


	4. Toasted Marshmallows and Cell Phones

**The Broken Road**

**Chapter 4: Toasted Marshmallows and Cell Phones**

**

* * *

**

Relena sat in the warm sand, happily admiring their work. These men really were amazing. They'd pitched two tents, cleared the campsite, and started a fire all in record time. Of course, they had all been trained for camp-outs, and Trowa didhave experience with tents, but she was still impressed. Their site was nestled within the edge of the forest, just beyond the dunes. Relena was glad they wouldn't be sleeping in sand for three nights.

She vaguely caught the sound of Heero's voice drifting towards her across the sandy hills. Gloria had called for the third time in a matter of hours. Heero was less than ecstatic.

"Heero told us that your boyfriend is an honorable man," Wufei said, dropping himself to sit next to Relena.

"Did he?" she laughed. "Yes, Hale is honorable, but he is a lawyer. A good one."

She let the beautiful sand sift through her fingers, a comforting feeling. They sat in silence, both regarding the other, both watching the quiet campsite and its lazy activity. Duo was asleep in a hammock, Hilde was managing the food they'd packed. Dorothy and Quatre had gone to the beach to walk along the water (during the bus ride they'd discovered the joys of one anther's company), Trowa was sitting next to the fire- reading contentedly. The only person not relaxing was Heero.

"Gloria, I'm going to-" Heero cut himself off and took a deep breath. No. He'd vowed not to kill anymore. He was over-reacting. "I will talk to you later."

Relena jumped as a cell phone went whistling past her head and crashed into the fire pit, sending ash flying into the air. Heero sat calmly next to her. Wufei smirked.

"What if it rings, Heero?" Relena asked.

"The only way to live a good life is to act on your emotions," Heero justified. The phone would be fine. Irretrievable until the fire went out, but fine. Unfortunately, cell phones had become almost as indestructible as Gundams over the years. Relena looked at him skeptically. "It's on silent," he assured her. She relaxed.

"Throw hers in, too," came Dorothy's voice. She and Quatre had returned from their walk along the beach. Relena made a show of looking offended. Heero held out his hand, offering to oblige. She shook her head, laughing.

"Let's all go to the beach! It's simply beautiful there. The light is sparkling off the water like a million diamonds and I just can't bear how poetic it is," Dorothy sang.

Wufei stood in compliance- he spent most of his meditations near water. He wordlessly made his way over the dunes.

"Hilde! We're going to the water! Bring the monkey!" Dorothy called. Hilde laughed and gave the hammock a light push, capsizing Duo, then gave Dorothy a thumbs up. Trowa stayed to read, more partial to the lake after the sun went down, anyhow.

A light breeze came beckoning from the water, teasing their hair and enticing them. They turned expectantly into the wind, ready to explore the waterfront that awaited on the other side of the dunes. Relena gave Dorothy a challenging look, sizing her up, then grinned fiendishly.

"Race you!" she shouted and took off towards the dunes, sand flying from beneath her bare feet. Dorothy gasped indignantly and chased after the vice foreign minister. Quatre just shook his head, smiling in that bittersweet way of his.

"We all had to grow up too quickly, didn't we?" Quatre said softly. Heero rested a hand on Quatre's shoulder.

"We did what had to be done. Let's just enjoy the peace, now." Heero watched the girls stumbling over the slopes of the dunes with a smirk. They were struggling to conquer the sand that slid out from under their feet as they climbed.

"We could still beat them," Quatre noted. Heero's smirk turned into a smile.

"Shouldn't we give them a head start?" Quatre laughed, noting that the girls would be out of sight after they topped the next dune.

"They'll be sore losers either way." With a chuckle, Heero bounded forward, choosing to weave in and out of the dunes instead of clambering up and down the tallest points. Quatre was right behind him. They both laughed out loud when they heard the horrified shouts of the girls that they quickly over took, a cloud of dust in their wake.

_Just enjoy the peace._

* * *

Heero lay back in the sand, lazily calculating how much time he'd have to spend getting the sand out of his hair. He lifted his head just barely as a shadow fell across his face, then dropped it back against the sand. He didn't bother to react as Relena wrung her hair out on his chest. He'd known she'd want a personal revenge, but as he was already soaked to the bone, it didn't matter.

"Quatre predicted that you'd be a sore loser," Heero commented, his voice like black coffee, deep and rich, as always. Relena dropped to the sand at his side.

"You cheated," Relena huffed. Grains of sand clung to her wet legs and shorts.

"We gave you a hundred meter head start," Heero corrected. She sighed dramatically.

Once the girls had caught up to their speedier comrades, they'd attacked. Heero and Quatre were trained fighters, though, and they had both learned the advantages of sacrifice. So they'd each slung a girl over their shoulder, waded out into the lake, and tossed them into the water. Sure, they had to get a little wet in the process, but the mission had been accomplished, and a soldier never complained.

Complained? No. Heero and Quatre had laughed. Hard. Then sprinted back to shore before a revenge mission could be executed. Sprinting through waist-deep water seemed to have more damaging effects than an escape seemed to warrant, as they were mostly soaked by the time they reached the shore. They were happy, though. How often did ex-Gundam pilots get to act like typical youths?

Wufei stayed far from the madness. He had muttered something about disturbing the tranquility and integrity of nature, then wandered off alone along the shore.

Dorothy and Relena had come after Quatre and Heero immediately, but the two women were no match for ex-Gundam pilots in peak physical condition. When Hilde and Duo had caught up, Duo wasted no time in throwing Hilde into the lake as well, just to be fair. Unfortunately, while he stood laughing on the shore, she launched a surprise attack, yanking him into the water by his braid. Against such tactics, even the God of Death was powerless.

"Not the braid, Hilde!"

An all-out war had broken loose, and Dorothy, unable to remain on one side for very long, had made the battles confusing. At first she was helping Relena to attack Quatre, but the second Quatre was soaked, Dorothy turned on Relena and knocked her over into the waves, too. Such actions continued for as long as the war raged on.

It had been a brutal match, one filled with treason and foul-play. In the end, Dorothy, Relena, Hilde, Duo, and Quatre teamed up in order to knock Heero under. Although he wasn't really dry at that point, they took their victory as a huge accomplishment.

Now they all lay stretched out on the beach, recovering from the struggle and taking in the last warm rays of the sun. Dorothy and Quatre discussed stocks and entrepreneurship. Duo explained his theory about gills to Hilde. Relena and Heero just lay there, taking several minutes to simply enjoy one another's presence. No words were needed.

By the time the sun was setting, Wufei was returning from whatever spiritual journey he'd embarked on along the shore. He sat with them while the shadows lengthened. When the reds bled back into blues, the group all made the journey back to campsite, hoping Trowa had started dinner.

* * *

Trowa did not disappoint. A feast of roasted hot dogs and campfire potatoes greeted the battered warriors upon their return. Completely satisfied, they sat back and humored Duo by listening to his scary stories as evening matured into night. He went on about phantoms and psycho killers for a good two hours, at least, then Relena's head began to droop against Heero's shoulder. Heero caught the look Dorothy was giving them and gently shook his friend to wake her.

"How sweet," Dorothy murmured. Her eyes glistened by the light of the campfire.

"Dorothy, they don't want that kind of relationship, leave them be," Quatre reprimanded softly. They thought their words hidden beneath the mad ravings of Duo Maxwell, but Heero could read lips. His eyes narrowed, wary of Dorothy's intentions.

"Hmm?" Relena mumbled incoherently. Her eyes were blurry with sleep. Heero smiled at her, putting his misgivings at the back of his mind.

"Why don't you get into bed?" he suggested. She stood, unsteadily, and stumbled towards the tent. He watched her go with a smirk.

"What's so funny?" Trowa wondered, not listening to a word Duo said. Heero just held out his hand to reveal Relena's cell phone. He tossed it into the fire before any of the others caught on. Of course, Dorothy saw, but she wouldn't be the one to tell.

As one by one they retired to bed, the wheels in Dorothy's head kept turning. She just knewHeero and Relena were in love, but the pair denied it adamantly. Well, this would not do at all. She was going to see them together if it was the last thing she did.

Dorothy picked her way through the sleeping bags in the girl's tent, a wriggling worm pinched between her forefinger and thumb. Holding back a devilish snicker, she crept towards Relena and plucked forward the collar of her sleeping friend's shirt, depositing her captive. A moment and then...

"Yeeee!" Relena rocketed out of bed... almost. Halfway there, she became entangled in her sleeping bag and kept screaming in her panic to escape. Quatre rushed into the tent, ready to beat down some assassin, only to find Relena hopping in circles, scrubbing herself furiously with her hands, and Dorothy rolling on the floor with laughter.

"Miss Relena?" he asked uncertainly. She continued her antics until she stepped on her teddy bear, lost balance, and landed in a most undignified way on her rear. Realizing she was now closer to the poor worm again, she snatched her bear up and nearly knocked Quatre over as she flung herself towards him for aid.

Dorothy howled with laughter. Duo burst into the tent as well, Hilde at his side.

"Whatis going on?" Duo cried. Relena glanced at them and then at Quatre, whom she was wrapped rather tightly around, and blushed crimson with embarrassment. Spotting Dorothy, Duo decided to nail the perpetrator. "What did you do?"

"Worm," was all Dorothy could manage through fits of giggles. Her eyes were streaming and her abdomen ached from laughter. Duo looked perplexed, but Hilde caught on immediately and snatched up Relena's sleeping bag. She shook it thoroughly until the tiny cause of all this chaos plopped innocently onto the floor of the tent. Taking pity, she scooped it up and carried it outside, where it could return to its simple life.

Relena flinched visibly as Hilde passed with the harmless animal. Quatre was trying to peel her off of himself, but she seemed too traumatized to realize it. Finally, Heero stuck his head through the tent, apparently having seen Hilde's passenger.

"Don't worry about it, Relena. Anyone would react like that to a worm," he stated in monotone. For a moment, the lack of emotion made it sound sincere. Just for a moment, though. Releasing Quatre, Relena stomped towards Heero, but he retracted his head and returned to the fire for breakfast.

"Heero Yuy! Just you wait! I'll pour a whole legion of worms into your pants when you least expect it!" she shouted after him. She waved her arms in the air, her teddy suffering from severe whip-lash.

"Really, Miss Relena, aren't you a bit old to be sleeping with a teddy bear?" Dorothy prodded.

"For your information, Ichi and I have a long history together. He was given to me at the end of the war and I consider him my personal peacekeeper," Relena told her loftily.

"Itchy? Does he have fleas?"

"I-CHI," Relena articulated, "Japanese for one."

"Like Heero!" Duo piped up. They all looked at him. "You know, pilot 01. Heero Yuy... one..."

"Gah!" Relena threw up her hands in frustration and left the tent. Dorothy just smirked. Wouldn't that be useful information?

* * *

Day two meant a canoe trip. Since the group consisted of eight, they split nicely into four canoes. There was some debate, however, over who would be pairing up with whom. Dorothy had split loyalties between Quatre and Relena. Duo and Hilde had no problems choosing the same canoe, both being strong and competitive, they considered one another worthy allies. Trowa and Wufei were both relatively indifferent, as was Heero. Relena just didn't want to get stuck with Dorothy.

"Miss Relena, after all we've been through together?" Dorothy moaned.

"Dorothy, if I'm in the canoe with you, I'll do all the rowing allday," Relena snipped. Quatre was about to intervene when Relena turned to Dorothy again. "Besides, you hid my cell phone!"

"Surely you're not angry about that!" Dorothy breathed, eyebrows raised. "Why, that Hank fellow has been calling you non-stop! I'd think you were glad to get rid of him."

"That settles it. I refuse to share a canoe with you!"

"Well," Quatre managed, "If you'll have me, Dorothy?"

Meanwhile...

"Why should I care?" Trowa asked. The three looked at one another hopelessly.

"Somebody has to make a choice," Heero pointed out matter-of-factly.

"As long as I'm not with somebody dishonorable, like Maxwell, I don't care," Wufei spat.

"We could play rock-paper-scissors," Trowa suggested. The ex-pilots glanced at one another, wondering if that was stooping too low. In silent agreement they held out their hands and began what should have been a quick determination of fate.

Back to Dorothy...

"Quatre, it's not that I mind your company at all," Dorothy explained, "I simply don't like the cold regard that Miss Relena is showing me. What have I done to earn such treatment?"

"There was the worm, this morning, and her cell phone, and you keep trying to set her up with Heero..."

"Those were favors. Alright, not the worm, but she still ought to be grateful! I found a centipede, too, but I opted for the worm."

Rock-Paper-Scissors...

"Wow, this is amazing!" Duo said, scratching his head. "I've never seen so many consecutive three-way ties in my life."

Dorothy...

"If you were a good friend, Quatre, you'd see how much they need one another!"

"They seem happy with their lives. Why must you push them in a different direction?"

"I just know they were made for one another!"

"Hello, I'm still here!" Relena reminded them.

Rock-Paper-Scissors...

"Hmm, and you say this has been going on for ten minutes, Duo?" Hilde asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah, isn't it incredible?"

"What's going on?"

"Oh, Relena, they're playing rock-paper-scissors to see who ends up in a canoe with you," Hilde murmured, mesmerized by the perfect unison of the pilot's pounding fists.

"What?! Don't I get a say in it?"

"Nope," Duo answered bluntly.

"Why not?"

"This is way too interesting."

Dorothy...

"Where did Miss Relena go?"

"I think she walked away a few minutes ago," Quatre sighed.

"To find Heero!" Dorothy predicted.

"I think she was just tired of-"

"Come on, Quatre! We've got to spy on her!"

Rock-Paper-Scissors...

"Statistically, this isn't even possible," Relena commented, unhelpfully. The ex-pilots were deep in concentration: each wore their battle face. "Do you think it's because you all had the same training when you became Gundam pilots?"

"I don't know..." Duo admitted.

"I knew it!" Dorothy exclaimed as she entered the scene, dragging Quatre behind her. She stopped, unsure of what to make of the situation before her. "How long has this been going on?"

Duo glanced at his watch. "I've been watching for about fifteen minutes now."

"Incredible!" She moved forward, evil intent clear in her eyes. She leaned close to Heero and whispered something in his ear. His eyes narrowed and his fist came down once more. Everything stopped.

"You win," Wufei croaked, relief evident in his face. "It's finally over."

"So... what does that mean? Do you two have to keep going now?" Duo asked. The three exhausted warriors looked at one another and realized they hadn't decided.

"If the winner gets the canoe with Relena, then the other two left over will clearly be paired as well," Dorothy offered. Wufei and Trowa looked at one another, not wanting to continue the 'game' any further.

"So be it," Trowa said. Then he and Wufei got up and walked away, before anyone could come up with an argument.

"What did she say to you, man?" Duo asked Heero in wonderment.

"I'll take it to my grave," Heero said. He followed his friends' retreat towards the dock.

* * *

Heero's deft strokes went deep, sending a swarm of ripples in their wake. What Relena's strokes lacked in power, they made up for in grace. Their canoe eased down the river at a tranquil pace. Relena's blue eyes took in the many bullfrogs that lined the banks. She couldn't help but giggle as they all leapt into the water at the canoe's approach. A chorus of ploop! filled the warm air. They'd been on the river for an hour, now. Neither Heero nor Relena spoke many words. They were enjoying the sights, taking in the sounds, relishing the peace.

Their pace was languid, but it had to be if they wanted quiet. Ahead, Duo and Hilde were racing Dorothy and Quatre. Whenever one of their canoes came in too close, they dipped their paddles deep into the river and flung copious amounts of water at one another. Heero and Relena wanted no part of that madness. They were content to drift along at a noncompetitive pace and remain dry.

"Oh," Relena whispered, her paddle freezing, mid-stroke.

"A heron," Heero told her, quietly. "It comes here to eat the frogs."

They watched as the tall bird stalked along the shallows, then froze. As they got nearer, it launched itself into the air and fled downstream. Relena frowned, a little disappointed.

"We'll see it again," Heero assured her. Her face brightened. They continued to steer their canoe downstream, helped by the current.

* * *

Up ahead, Duo had called a truce with Dorothy. The two instigators had suffered the worst of the splashes and were feeling rather weighed down. They took their time catching their breath and wringing out their hair. Duo hailed Dorothy as she leaned over the side of her canoe, water dripping from her flaxen mane.

"Oy, blondie, what did you say to Heero?"

"Whatever do you mean? He's nowhere near here," Dorothy feigned innocence.

"You said something to him while they were facing-off in rock-paper-scissors," Duo insisted. He hated being left in the dark. Dorothy giggled and gathered her hair into a low ponytail.

"Oh, it was nothing," she lied. Quatre leaned forward in his seat to catch her attention.

"It was about Miss Relena, wasn't it?" he pressed, gently.

"That's possible," Dorothy admitted, pressing a finger to her temple and resting her chin on her thumb. "I'll never tell, though."

"What if I swore to join your cause?" Duo baited. Dorothy raised an eyebrow at his proposal.

"My cause?"

"Don't play dumb! We all know you're trying to set them up! You aren't exactly being subtle about it!"

"Hmmm..."

* * *

"Heero?"

"Hn."

"I'm sorry about Dorothy."

"That's not something you need to apologize for."

"I know, but I can't just let it lie."

"Hn."

"She's being terribly invasive, and I realize that she doesn't know Gloria or Hale, so she's biased, but it's still..."

"Relena, don't worry about Dorothy. She's not going to change my opinion of you."

"I just don't want things to become awkward between us because of Dorothy's plots."

"They won't. I've never had a friend like you. Our friendship is far too important to toss aside like that."

"Oh, Heero!" Relena stopped paddling in order to throw herself at her friend and wrap him in a hug. He didn't reprimand her for almost tipping the boat. He just hugged back. She really was his closest friend. No crazed girl's rants about love would threaten their relationship. Relena and Heero needed one another and he would defend that stance, it was as simple as that.

* * *

**So, that's where I'm leaving chapter 4. I guess it's a little weighed down. I'll do better next time. More to come. :)**

**-Izzy**


	5. Adventures on a River

**The Broken Road**

**Chapter 5: Adventures on a River**

A heron stalked alongside the river, wary of the four canoes resting side by side on the opposite shore. A group of people sat in a circle on the sandy bank, one thing occupying their minds: lunch. After hours of rowing, their stomachs were aching for relief. Fortunately, a sizable picnic had been packed for the mid-day meal, and everyone addressed their food with the same amount of appreciative attention. Well, maybe not entirely.

"Phee bweat phew!" Duo exclaimed through an overly large bite of sandwich. Wufei eyed him in disgust and Hilde gave him a reproachful look. A drenched Dorothy sniffed spitefully.

"You didn't beat us," she corrected. "You capsized our canoe!"

"We still got here first," he insisted after a big gulp. Dorothy rolled her eyes, but smirked.

"Since you're so fond of coming in first, perhaps I should assist you in becoming the first among us to _die_," she threatened. "Quatre, rest well. As soon as we hit water again, blood will be spilled!"

"Perhaps it would be wise to reassign partners?" Relena suggested, always the pacifist. Trowa and Wufei exchanged a dark glance- rock-paper-scissors still fresh in their minds.

"That's a good idea," the significantly sodden Quatre agreed. He was completely exhausted from the constant assaults and Dorothy's urges to "Row faster!" He had no qualms about giving her up to somebody else's boat.

"As long as she doesn't end up with me," Relena put in, before anyone could suggest it.

"That's fine, Miss Relena. You and Heero just stay put," Dorothy teased with a flirty wink.

"Wufei or Trowa could switch with her," Quatre pointed out.

"She's the most dishonorable woman I've ever met! Besides, she's a _woman_. She's too weak to row with me," Wufei scowled. He didn't mind Relena, but Dorothy was another matter entirely. He would not tolerate her in the same canoe as himself.

"Then you switch with her. I'll row with Dorothy," Trowa decided with precise articulation. Dorothy tried to act offended, but she was relieved not to be stuck with Wufei. The two did not get along in the least.

"Let's give Duo and Hilde a head start, then. Why don't you two head out now? We'll release Dorothy after you have a big enough cushion between you," Quatre offered, always the strategist.

"Good idea. We'll see you at the next break, then. Here?" Hilde indicated a spot on the map. Heero nodded and Hilde ushered Duo into a canoe before he could swallow his latest bite and manage a protest. As their canoe drifted out into the center of the stream, Duo called back over his shoulder.

"Good luck, Trowa! You'll need it with that demon in your boat!"

"The nerve of that-"

"I agree," Quatre interjected. He gave her a level look. "You're a slave driver, Dorothy."

"What?!"

"Shall we go?" Relena said to Heero, eager to escape her bickering friends. He nodded and offered her is hand to assist her into the canoe. Then with the agility that had gotten him through the war, he shoved the canoe back off the embankment and nimbly sprang inside before it began to drift away.

Dorothy was already drumming her fingers againts her crossed arms. She turned to glare at Quatre.

"Hurry up. The sooner you leave, the sooner I can catch up to Maxwell and hurt him."

"That would defeat the purpose of reassigning partners," Quatre said, begging her to behave. She just gave him a dirty look for abandoning her. He turned away to help Wufei shove off. As Quatre and Wufei also launched their canoe, Dorothy's confidence wavered for just a second. Trowa could tell she was hurt by being left behind. Quatre didn't even glance back at her.

"Let's be on our way." Trowa's voice snapped her out of her momentary gloom. The evil glint came back to her eye and she nodded, climbing into the boat and seating herself comfortably.

* * *

"I'm not a fan of that woman, but you might have been gentler with her," Wufei said softly, sounding completely out of character. Quatre sighed and slumped his shoulders.

"_You're_ giving me female advice?"

"I just know that you catch more Sally with honey," Wufei remarked. Quatre tried to stifle a laugh as Wufei realized what he'd said. "Flies!" he belatedly tried to amend.

"Thank you, Wufei. I appreciate your input, but Dorothy isn't that easy to deal with. She really is a slave driver!" He turned his head to watch the serene landscape ease by them. "She wouldn't row a single stroke no matter how hard I pleaded and unless we were in the lead she was never satisfied! A man could break his back for her and she'd dismiss him for being physically inadequate."

"Why do you think that is?" Wufei pressed. Quatre shrugged.

"Dorothy is insecure. She's unsure of how to let the kindness and goodwill of others affect her. She can't stand being kind. Even now, when the war is behind us, her past continues to haunt her. She expresses her gratitude more often through loyalty than by saying 'thank you.'"

There was a long silence as they continued forward. Yes, some of them had had more trouble adapting since the war than others. Dorothy was only satisfied when she was in control, only charitable when she could be both the hero and the villian. She stirred things up everywhere she went, but never seemed to rest in one spot. Quatre turned his head to watch her talk to Trowa in the boat behind them. Hadn't she stuck with him, though? At least for the past few days, she had been near him, sharing her ideas and inner thoughts with him. She hadn't exactly spilled her heart out to him, but she'd talked to him. She was putting her faith in their friendship, in _him_. After all this time as acquaintances she was finally starting to trust him and he'd just...

"I'm a moron," Quatre moaned. Wufei nodded.

* * *

"After we get Duo, Quatre is next! I've never met such an ungracious man in my entire life. Well, obviously I'm exaggerating. He certainly doesn't have the manners my cousin did, though."

"Quatre is just too kind. He's used to being overworked and under appreciated. He's used to being in losing battles and suffering for other's ideals. He doesn't like to fight without a cause, though. I don't think he sees the value in your crusade against Duo Maxwell, and therefore wants no part of it," Trowa replied honestly.

"Then why didn't he say so?" Dorothy prodded.

"Did you give him the chance?"

"Row faster! I won't have my intentions questioned," she ordered, eyes narrowed. Trowa complied. As he did so, he watched Dorothy's thoughts turn inwards. He could tell she was afraid she'd truly upset Quatre, just when they had begun to form a solid friendship.

"He's already forgiven you," Trowa told her. She seemed to take that to heart, but squashed further exploration of the topic.

"We need a plan. Maxwell will be expecting an attack..."

Back in their canoe, Heero and Relena turned their discussion towards politics. Relena was grumbling over some ambassador of somewhere while Heero calmly consoled and counselled her. Although the two kept in touch, exchanging emails every few days, there was always plenty to elaborate on. Relena's position was an endless source of conversation, and Heero could keep up with the political discussion in a way Hale was never interested in doing.

"I'm appalled that he could even think to proposition such a scandalous exchange!" Relena fumed.

"Count de Vrie is tactless. Aside from him hitting on you, what do you think about the actual policy changes he proposes?" Heero said, steering her away from the emotional interference with the topic.

"Hmm. I guess I hadn't given it fair consideration. His methods repulsed me so much, I didn't even want to look into it."

"Hn."

"I don't want to hear it! You're always telling me 'I told you so' and 'I'm right, you're wrong' and 'I know better than you'! Really, Heero, you don't know what it's like to have a 70-year-old man slipping his arm around your waist to tell you how great he is and would you like to see his estate?" Relena huffed.

"I believe all I said was 'Hn,'" Heero pointed out.

"Yes, well, don't think I don't know what you're _getting at_," she defended, allowing her paddle to splash him a bit as it came out of the water.

"Poor tactics," he muttered, reaching forward to yank her hair.

"Ouch! Heero Yuy, you monster!"

"Yes, Relena Darlain?"

"Oh, forget you!"

Heero smirked, knowing she was grinning from ear to ear, despite the protests.

* * *

"Quatre and Relena are such spoil-sports!" Duo pouted. He'd been lamenting the loss of his playmate to Hilde since they'd returned to the river.

"Duo, we haven't even dried out from all that splashing, yet! Would you quit sulking and row a little more?"

"I'm just saying, it's not as fun now that she's way behind us."

"I'm sure she'll catch up."

"Yeah, then I'll capsize her again and teach her who's boss!" His eyes lit up.

"I really can't understand your friendship with her," Hilde moaned. "At least when _I_ spend time with her, we do enjoyable things. When_ you_hang out with her, the two of you face each other in tennis for hours, or race each other until somebody's car explodes, or play video games until your legs are asleep."

"That's what makes her so fun," he insisted. "Now its back to this same old boring thing, rowing along this lame river-"

"Faster, Trowa! That braided baboon is going to pay for humiliating me!" Unbothered by Dorothy's commanding personality, Trowa was going along with her scheme. He dug his paddle deep and pushed the canoe forward in powerful spurts. Dorothy was using her paddle to jab dramatically at Duo and Hilde's canoe, waving it like a baton.

"We might make better time if you weren't standing on the bow and throwing off the balance of the boat," Trowa suggested coolly. She turned to him, eyes blazing with passion.

"I just love a good battle," she breathed, dropping to sit in the center of the canoe.

"We'll get there faster if you paddle," he commented, uninterested and in no way persuasive. Somehow, the lack of a command sent her into action. She plunged her paddle into the water and rowed with all her might. At first, she was annoyed with the effort it took, then as she settled into a rhythm she found delight in the struggle, the same delight she found in every struggle.

"Marvelous," she mused. It took very little time for them to catch up with Duo and Hilde, although the two were a strong team. Dorothy was not yet tired, having just begun to paddle, so their canoe had the advantage. She glanced back at her partner and gave him a small salute.

"You got your wish," Hilde muttered cynically. Duo grinned and stopped paddling as the enemy ship approached.

"I will return upon completion of the mission," Dorothy informed Trowa. He just nodded his understanding. Battle cries arose as the two canoes grazed up against each other.

"En garde!" Dorothy shouted, leaping nimbly into their canoe, paddle held aloft like a fencing foil. She made a swipe for Duo's head, but he dodged, surging to his feet as well. The duel began- the two masterfully managing their footing as their paddles clashed against one another.

"Duo! Dorothy! You're going to kill me!" Hilde told them, trying to back out of the battle zone. She had limited room for escape, however, being in a small canoe. Trowa had already drifted away to a safe distance, probably so neither Duo nor Dorothy would hurt themselves falling onto his canoe.

"Hey, stop you two!" she tried again, Duo's foot coming down close to her hand and almost crushing it. The boat rocked violently under their struggle. Throwing up her hands in defeat, Hilde rose carefully and turned her back on them.

"I quit! Forget you, Duo!" Hilde yelled in anguish, and dove into the river. With the grace of a mermaid, she swam upstream towards Heero and Relena's canoe. If anyone would sympathize with her, it would be them.

"Hilde!" Duo cried, unable to tear himself from the perilous battle.

"He's getting emotional. Dorothy will be the victor," Trowa numbly predicted.

Neo-plastic clacked hollowly against neo-plastic as the beauty and the braid fought. The canoe pitched frightfully under their shifting bodies. It was a battle no amateur could ever attempt, for with each strike and counter, both participants had to keep the position of their own feet in mind as well as those of their opponent. One wrong move would capsize the canoe, and naturally, letting their guard down for a second could mean being knocked into the water with a sharp whack of the paddle. This was definitely one of those "do not try at home" stunts.

Beads of sweat formed on their brows. Dorothy had more experience with a sword, but Duo had more power. Both were equally thrown off by the awkwardness of fencing with paddles in a tipsy canoe. There was too much at stake for either to back down. That and they were both having fun tearing each other to pieces.

"Back down, you miserable monkey!"

"I'm the monkey? Who's the one with excess hair on their face?"

"How dare you? These eyebrows are a proudly maintained recessive trait, I'll have you know! What's your excuse for looking like a woman?"

"Jealous that I'm prettier than you?"

"Ha! Never! Take that!"

"You missed! Twice!"

"I'll give you a miss you'll be feeling for weeks, fish brain!"

"Won't that be ironic when the fish are eating _your _carcass."

"Oh, you're clever for having never evolved."

"Is that any way to talk to an ex-Gundam pilot?!"

"Ha! You hardly warrant admiration. You must have blundered your way through the wars piloting your DeathSkirt!"

"How dare you call DeathScythe names?!"

"DUO! Stop this instant or I'm not talking to you!" Hilde's angry threat came slicing down the river as Heero and Relena's canoe swiftly gained on that of the dueling maniacs.

"What?! Hilde, babe, I'm in the middle of a fight! Can't we talk about this some other time?!"

"No. Forget it. We are NOT going to Charlies for your birthday."

"WHAT?! You can't take away my birthday present!" Duo's head whipped around to look at Hilde in disbelief. Before she could think to stop herself (not that she would have stopped herself), Dorothy swung the back of her paddle to collide with his gut, sending him flying backwards into the river, completely winded, mouth wide in shock as he hit the water.

"DUO!" Hilde shouted.

"Damn him," Heero grumbled.

He was in the water in a flash, diving for Duo's form. He surfaced in an instant, just in time to hear a loud splash as Trowa dove after Dorothy who'd lost her balance in the severely upset canoe and plunged overboard as well. Trowa had clearly anticipated such an event from the start.

Heero hauled the sputtering and coughing Duo to the canoe. Hilde and Relena waiting to pull Duo into the safety of the boat. Once he was securely inside, Heero hoisted himself in as well. He shook his head in frustration and Relena lay a cautioning hand on his arm. His shoulders relaxed, but he still looked royally displeased with their friends. It may have had something to do with the freezing cold river water.

"What were you thinking?! You could have drowned!" Hilde shouted.

"Heh, does this mean we're really not going to Charlies?" Duo asked, meekly. He rubbed the sore spot just below his ribs and coughed up a little more water.

Meanwhile, in Trowa's arms, Dorothy was trying to blink the fuzziness away. She's managed to smack her head on the canoe as she tumbled into the water.

"Your plan was poorly thought out," Trowa stated. She just nodded, hazily.

"It was a beautiful battle, wasn't it?"

"Dorothy, are you alright?" Quatre's eyes were full of concern as he and Wufei pulled up next to Trowa. Without pause, Quatre crossed to Trowa's canoe and knelt on the floor in front of his friends, staring into Dorothy's face intently.

"Quatre? Where are you?"

"What's wrong? What happened to her?"

"She hit her head."

"Oh Dorothy, you just couldn't let it lie, could you?" Quatre sighed. He move a gentle hand to push the wet hair that clung to her face out of her eyes. Wufei smiled at his tender friend.

Trowa took careful leave, returning to Wufei's side and picking up a paddle.

"Let's get going. We've still got a lot of water to cover."

So, with two invalids, the group finished the last leg of their journey. Incidentally, it was the quietest portion of the canoe trip.

* * *

Dorothy woke the next morning with a headache. Duo woke with a large bruise on his abdomen. The others had allowed them to sleep in for recovery purposes. They both meandered out to the fire pit, hoping for someone to make them breakfast. There was nobody else at the campsite.

"How nice of them," Dorothy huffed, sitting moodily on a stump next to the pit. She glanced at Duo as he sat across from her, wincing as his body bent. Instinctively, her hand went to the lump on the back of her head.

"We sure did a number on each other yesterday, didn't we?" Duo chuckled. He stopped because it hurt. Dorothy grinned.

"They thought they could stop us!" she laughed. How greatly they had been underestimated! An awkward silence followed, in which they both wished silently for food to appear before them. Finally, Dorothy broke the silence.

"Should we wait for them to come back?"

"It could be hours! We've no idea where they are!"

"Then you're making breakfast."

"Hilde does all the cooking."

"How sexist of you," Dorothy remarked coldly.

"Can't you cook?"

"No. I've never cooked a thing in my life."

"You're not very domestic, are you? No wonder you're single."

"I'm highly sought after, actually. I'm just picky about my men."

"I hope you aren't picky about your food," Duo asserted. He was hungry. He got up and rummaged through the bins of provisions they'd brought. He was sure they'd packed non-perishable eggs... Aha! He held them aloft triumphantly.

"Do you have any idea how to cook them?"

"In a pan," he retorted, loftily. She glared and he realized she was referring to a recipe. He thought about that. "Well, when we're not eating meat, Hilde makes fish or eggs. She uses lemon and butter for one, and cheese and milk for the other... I think the eggs get the lemon and butter. Yeah! So that's what we need!"

As Duo began to split the eggs in the pan and stir in the lemon juice, Dorothy wondered if perhaps they should have waited after all...

* * *

"He's trying to kill us!" Relena shrieked, grabbing on to whatever was closest, which happened to be Heero.

"Relax. Wufei's views on suicide are very strict," Heero told her, allowing her to wrap her arms around him as he gripped the safety bar for stability.

"EEEeeeee!"

Sand filled the air as the dune buggy went flying over the top of yet another sand dune. They were airborne for several moments before wheels met earth again on the steep downward slope of the same dune. Wufei hit the gas, utilizing the momentum to hurl them up the next hill.

"Do you drive on your missions with Sally?" Quatre yelled calmly into the wind, fascinated with the way that Wufei handled the machine. The Magunauc Corp had dune buggy races sometimes, but none of them were this reckless.

"We take turns," Wufei smirked. Quatre took that to mean that the two fought it out every time.

"Have you ever considered the circus?" Trowa remarked calmly from beside Quatre on the front bench. He was already formulating new ways to integrate these techniques into his stunt car performance.

"I'll stick to Preventor," Wufei replied. Relena was whimpering in the back seat as they speedily gained on the edge of the hill they raced atop. Wufei glanced sideways at Quatre. "Tell everyone to hold on."

"What are you going to-? HOLD ON!" Quatre warned as Wufei spun the wheel and sent their buggy careening sideways off the edge of a veritable cliff. The buggy tumbled down the slope, sand flying as it rolled roughly. Relena was screaming, sand choking her. Hilde was next to her, not daring to open her mouth to laugh out loud at her friend's distress due to all the particles in the air. Thank goodness they were all wearing goggles.

The dune buggy landed right-side-up, whether by miracle or design it was hard to tell. Wufei wasted no time in slamming his foot on the gas, ready for more stunts.

"I can't believe Duo is missing this!" Hilde screamed over the roar of the wind as they raced up and down more slopes.

* * *

"Breakfast is supposed to be balanced! Where's the fruit? The grains? The dairy?"

"Shut up, would you?" Duo warned. Then he returned to the food bin to fish out the desired ingredients. He located some bananas. Slicing his find into small pieces, he deposited it into the pan with the lemon-egg concoction. Next he dumped some dry-milk into the pan and tenderly stirred his masterpiece. "Eat it on toast!"

Dorothy wished she'd never opened her mouth as a foul stench filled the air.

* * *

Wufei hurled them across the dunes with force. He spun them until they couldn't see the landscape through the blur. He tipped them over and brought them up and down more dunes than they could count. They skidded across the grainy surface more than once. Hilde was whooping and waving her arms madly in the air. Quatre and Trowa both smiled appreciatively at the ride. Relena was beyond screaming. She sat in silence, eyes wide, a death grip on Heero. Wufei pulled the buggy to a screeching halt, back where they'd started. Everyone climbed out and pulled off their goggles- except Heero and Relena.

"Relena, we've stopped. It's over," Heero said quietly to her. He watched her face intently. She wasn't blinking. Her face was frozen with shock. Her arms were firmly latched around him.

"Oh come on! It wasn't that bad," Hilde laughed. She stepped forward to pry Relena's fingers apart so Heero would be free. "If you keep this up, I might have to side with Dorothy about you and Heero," she teased. Relena didn't respond. Her arms fell limply at her sides when Hilde had unlatched her fingers.

"Actually, we're lucky she's concious," came Trowa's quiet input. "She hasn't been subjected to the same g-force resistance training that we have."

"She's been to space plenty of times, though. It shouldn't affect her _that _much," Quatre put in.

"She always takes soothers before a flight. Even in-sphere flights," Heero revealed. Everyone realized the implications of that statement.

"Somebody could have told me that sooner!" Wufei cried, suddenly feeling rather guilty.

"I had no idea," Hilde told them with disbelief. "Oh no, and I've been making fun of her this entire time!"

Heero grunted his displeasure, carefully guiding a now trembling Relena out of the dune buggy. She was far from steady on her feet, but he didn't let her fall. He tilted her face up so he could better examine her condition. She blinked.

"Heero," she pleaded, hoping he would stop the world from tossing around her. With a gasp, she collapsed against him, eyes rolling back. Trowa glanced over at the cause for Heero's frustrated sigh.

"So much for being concious," he noted.

* * *

"Maybe we should try something else." The smell of Duo's 'food' was making Dorothy sick.

"Like what?" Duo sneered.

"Pancakes," Dorothy replied.

"From scratch? With what?"

"Milk and flour," she answered. There was an uncomfortable silence as the two would-be chef's wondered if those ingredients were indeed correct.

"Fine," Duo finally relented. He moved his bubbling lemon-banana-dry-milk-eggs off the heat of the fire and set them aside "to cool". Dorothy stirred milk and flour in a bowl, hoping this would be edible. Duo glanced over her shoulder.

"Needs something else," he remarked. She stared down at the lumpy mixtured and had to agree.

"Like what?" she mimicked.

"Lard."

"That doesn't sound healthy," she recoiled at the thought.

"Hilde is _always_ saying 'lard this' and 'lard that'. I think it's the key ingredient."

"Alright," she conceded.

* * *

Return to camp was taking a lot longer than the journey to the dune buggy rental had taken. This was due in part to Wufei's angry rant about the fine he had to pay for a dent in the dune buggy, and in part because Heero was carrying Relena on his back along the forest path. More the former than the latter.

"Simple entertainment vehicles are not made out of gundanium, and you can't treat them as though they are," Trowa softly admonished.

"Sally and I have done worse to our Preventor jeep and it's intact!" he raved.

Heero ignored the bickering. His focus was getting Relena back into her sleeping bag and letting her rest. He felt responsible for looking out for her, as always. He mentally berated himself for subjecting her to those conditions in the first place. He had known better when nobody else had. Had he spoken up, this wouldn't have happened.

He'd let Wufei's madness continue for selfish reasons. Although the dune buggy experience was nothing compared to the feeling of piloting, some part of his body had been reminded of the training he'd undergone and the feeling of initiating his thrusters during battle. It had been a taste of the sensation he sorely missed. He'd needed Wufei to continue. He'd needed the comfort of having his body pulled in a million directions at once.

Relena let out a soft breath, her mouth close to his ear as her cheek rested against his shoulder. He didn't think she was weak, necessarily. He'd seen the strength she possessed time and time again. He just felt protective of her. She was not innocent or naive. She'd witnessed the many battles, the death and the loss. She'd lost two fathers in her lifetime, her brother -once to supposed death, the second time to mars, and her entire kingdom, twice. She'd been crowned Queen of the World and not only witnessed, but understood the underlying politics that created the role. She'd been clever enough to twist the figurehead position to her own advantage. She continued to wield power wisely, even now, in her office as the VFM.

Yes, Relena could take care of herself. That wasn't why Heero wanted to look out for her. Perhaps it was that Relena never placed herself before others. Politically, she could hold her ground and then some. Relena was just a girl, though. She had needs beyond her job and her physical protection. Needs that Heero felt were often over-looked.

"Oh, roses. Thank you, Hale," she mumbled into his ear, her breath tickling his neck.

Hale.

Heero had no real issues with the man. He was courteous and benevolent towards Relena. Warm and comforting, as far as Heero could tell, but something seemed to be missing. Relena's emails tended to indicate that she was very happy with Hale, despite citations of their many disagreements. Perhaps what seemed to be absent from their relationship would evolve with time.

Would that happen with he and Gloria, too? Somehow, Heero doubted that Gloria was going to be around long enough for that to happen. He loved his girlfriend, but he wasn't sure they were really serving one another's needs anymore...

"And beyond that, the dent itself was so small and insignificant that it I could have pounded it out myself in a few minutes! How can they possibly justify a fine that high for such small damage?"

"Haha, remember during the coup when you and Heero beat the crap out of each other and he still ended up saving the day? Even with his Gundam battered to bits?" Hilde laughed, clearly having spent too much time in the presence of Duo.

"What's your point, woman?" Wufei growled.

"Just saying, a single dent really doesn't change much," Hilde explained, hands in front of her in defense.

"EXACTLY! These people have no sense of integrity!"

"They're trying to run a business," Quatre defended, a businessman himself. "You signed a contract before we went out. You were aware of the liabilities. Your past experience in piloting isn't their concern."

"I'm surprised we didn't incur more damage than that," Trowa stated.

"I knew what I was doing," Wufei scoffed. Quatre and Trowa just exchanged a glance and continued walking.

"How's Relena?" Hilde asked, dropping back to walk beside Heero.

"She'll be fine. She just needs to rest."

"Why didn't either of you say something?" Hilde wondered allowed. Heero gave her a look. "Okay, well, she _was_ screaming like a maniac, but I didn't realize..." she trailed off, knowing that it sounded lame.

Suddenly, all the Gundam pilots froze. Hilde looked at them questioningly, but they exchanged a glance and broke into a sprint.

"Wait! What's going on?" she called after them, sprinting as well, now.

"Duo," Heero articulated menacingly.

"Duo? What did he-?" She caught a whiff of something terribly foul. "Oh no!"

They tore along the forest path, half expecting the camp to be burned down when they got back. It smelled like a grease fire. As they got nearer, they could hear shouting. Heero could feel Relena being jarred against his back as he ran, but there was no better way to position her.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Dorothy screamed. Duo was fanning the fire madly, trying to get the thick, black smoke to clear so he could find the source.

"Why aren't you helping?" He shouted back.

"What's burning?" She coughed and took several steps back, intent on avoiding the fumes. The two looked at one another, unsure of how this had happened. They had just finished adding the lard, and Duo had set the bucket aside...

"The LARD!" they realized. Doing the least rational and most unhelpful thing, Dorothy lunged at Duo and got her hands around his neck. They tumbled to the ground, rolling around and trying to throw punches at one another. Neither of them dealt well with prolonged hunger.

"DUO!" His head snapped up at the sound of Hilde's voice. She was _not_ a happy camper. Dorothy and Duo scrambled to extricate themselves from one another, hoping to look innocent.

"Trowa, the extinguisher!" Quatre called from the fireside. Trowa tossed it to him from where they had stowed it. Thick foam shot out of the can and suppressed the flames almost instantly. Once the fumes and particles began to clear away, everyone turned to glare at the troublemakers.

"We were just trying to make breakfast!" Duo explained, backing away from his furious girlfriend.

"How did _this_ happen, then?" she fumed.

"I don't know! We think the lard bucket got knocked over into the fire!" he cried, holding his hands in front of him in defense.

"Lard? Why on earth were you cooking with lard?"

"But- but!" Duo protested, "You _always _use lard!"

"I do?" Hilde challenged.

"Yes! You're always talking about 'lard this' and 'lard that'," he reminded her desperately.

"You mean when I say things like 'Duo, is your brain made of lard?' or 'Lard-butt, get up and help me do the dishes!'?"

Duo's eyes widened with realization and Dorothy turned to glare at him. She addressed Hilde.

"I bet you don't put lemon in your eggs, either," she accused.

"Lemon?" Quatre questioned. He glanced from Duo to Dorothy, then he burst out laughing. Trowa smirked and Wufei crossed his arms, shaking his head. Quatre was doubled over laughing and Hilde joined him, seeing the hilarity of the situation.

"Lemon!" she gasped to him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"In their _eggs_," Quatre reiterated in disbelief. Wufei stalked away, repulsed by the stupidity of what had happened. Trowa approached the humiliated pair.

"You must be hungry," he stated sympathetically. They nodded pitifully. "We'd better get a new fire started, then."

The two helped haul the ruined wood out of the fire pit, piling it in the sand nearby for later disposal. Then they dug out the pit, to rid it of the fire retardant. Duo made a miserly kick at the pile of ashes.

"Hey," Duo called, "Isn't this Heero's phone?"

* * *

What do you think? Did I take it too far? I spent forever on this chapter because half of it got deleted when my computer bugged out. :( Hope it suffices anyhow.

-Izzy


	6. Sympathy

**The Broken Road**

**Chapter 6: Sympathy**

A head of dark unruly hair poked through the flap of the tent, taking in the scene with well trained eyes. After habitually scanning the tent for a danger, deep blue eyes focussed their attention on a small lump positioned in the center of the room. _Good, she's still asleep_, the intruder thought. He didn't leave, though he had the information he'd come for. His friends were playing some raucous card game to pass the time until dinner, and he preffered the peace and quiet.

As he lowered himself to sit next to her, she shifted slightly. The color had come back to her face and she looked so tranquil curled up in her navy sleeping bag, hand resting near her cheek- perfectly oblivious to all the ruckus their friends were causing. A furrow formed in her brow. A violent jolt shook her body, as if she thought herself to be falling.

"No," she protested weakly. Instinctively, Heero reached out and took her hand. Her fingers grasped his tightly, and her brow unfurrowed. A nightmare about Wufei's driving, Heero was sure. Guilt assaulted him again.

"I'm sorry, Relena," he murmured, gently brushing his thumb against the back of her hand. The motion comforted him more than it could comfort his sleeping friend. Back and forth, back and forth against her soft skin. Since nobody was around and Relena was asleep, he allowed himself to expose his guilt. "I knew. I knew, but I didn't stop him. It was like flying again for... all of us. If you'd only been through what we had, you'd understand." He sighed and gave her hand a little squeeze.

"You'd understand anyhow, wouldn't you? You're always sympathetic. I should have protected you. I screwed up. I'm sorry. You're too important..." He trailed off, just watching her rest and wrestling his guilt. After a few minutes Relena stirred. Her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Heero?" she tried to sit up quickly, but found herself to be terribly dizzy. "What's going on?"

"Just rest. Everything is okay. You passed out." He graced her with a small smirk. Realization dawned on her and the memory hit her full force.

"I passed out!"

"Yes."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Approximately two hours."

"How did I get back here?"

"I carried you."

"You carried me? Heero, you didn't have to do that!" she leaned forward to smack him in the chest, only to discover his hand was linked with hers. She stared curiously at the connection. "Heero, were you worried about me?" she asked guiltily.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I'm sorry I didn't stop him-"

"Don't be sorry. I understand," Relena smiled. It was her turn to give his hand a squeeze, though she didn't know she was mimicking his earlier gesture. "It must be hard for you to have left everything familiar behind. You may not have liked fighting, but you spent so much time inside your Gundam... it must have become somewhat like home for you."

"You really are amazing," he murmured, pulling her into a bear hug with gruff appreciation. A small giggle escaped her. Her head settled into the crook of his neck and he let his chin rest atop her hair. The two relished one another's warmth for a moment, and the irreplaecable friendship they shared. Just a moment: then Relena yawned.

"You need to rest," Heero reminded them both.

With a somewhat overzealous push, he laid her back down against the pillow. She frowned at him for being forceful, but he ignored her displeasure, brushing her hair out of her eyes with rough fingers. Those same fingers yanked the zipper of her sleeping bag up to her chin and drew the drawstring tight. Satisfied that she was trapped, he rose to leave.

"Heero!" she called, irritated by his mood swing.

"Rest," he commanded. Her frown remained stubbornly in place- with a sigh knelt next to her again. "You had a rough day," he said more gently. "I'll wake you in an hour or two when dinner's ready."

"But I-" She yawned. "I'm fine!"

"Do I have to watch you until you fall asleep?" he said, a hint of humor in his voice. She nodded, sleepily. He sat with his arms crossed and glared at her. She felt safe within range of that glare, definately not intimidated. So it didn't take long for her body to drift peacefully back to the land of dreams. When her breathing evened out, Heero smiled took his leave. She could be so stubborn.

* * *

"Heero, stop worrying about Relena and come play Gundams with us!" Duo called as soon as Heero emerged from the tent. Heero gave him a questioning look.

"We're playing Spoons," Hilde explained," but we're using the word 'Gundams' instead of 'Spoons'."

"Hn." Heero sat down at the picnic table and was dealt some cards.

"Since you're coming in late, you start with 'Gun' already," Duo decided. Heero gave him a threatening look.

"It does have the ring of justice to it," Wufei teased.

"Hn."

The game began. The cards whipped around the circle in a blur of movement. Such a high-speed game of Spoons had never been witnessed in history. The only sounds heard were the the thunderous slapping of palms on the table and the incessant swishing of card against card.

Heero watched everybody at once, carefully monitoring how many cards each had picked up. Dorothy feigned to pick up a spoon and several of the pilots jumped, but Heero didn't bat an eyelash. Dorothy gave out a wild cackle and Quatre elbowed her, smirking.

In the space of a millisecond, Trowa's hand shot out and claimed a spoon. A flash of hands followed his lead, leaving Duo and Quatre wrestling over the same spoon. Catcalls filled the air as the two rolled around in the dirt, grunting and trying to dislodge one another without releasing their own grip.

"Quatre, he's tickleish!" Hilde called out. Quatre seized the opportunity to wriggle his fingers into Duo's sensitive sides. A yelp, an unrepressed laugh, and Quatre stood, holding his prize aloft. A bruise was already forming on his left cheek. He brushed off his pants and reassumed his position at the picnic table.

"Duo, that's 'Gu' for you," Wufei remarked indifferently, although the smirk on his face clearly said 'Haha!'. Duo slumped in his seat on the bench.

Two more rounds passed with draws: one between Trowa and Dorothy when the spoon snapped in half, the other between Hilde and Duo when the spoon got flung into the forrest and couldn't be recovered. Finally, after the struggle, Hilde lagged a second too long and missed getting a spoon.

"HA! Now you have 'Gu', too," Duo shot, sticking his tongue out. "Now I'm not the only one."

"You've been playing for an hour," Heero pointed out. They looked at him with a mixture of confusion and agreement. When nobody spoke, he decided it was necessary to continue. "Who has the most letters?"

Duo got shifty-eyed as everyone at the table indicated Heero as the person with the most letters. His eyes narrowed and he threw a glare at Duo and then Wufei before continuing.

"Well, you see," Duo justified, "we've got a five minute wrestle limit before it goes to a draw."

"Maybe you should pick a shorter word." Heero concluded.

"Like what?" Duo demanded.

"Lard," Quatre snickered. He and Hilde shared a moment of humor at Duo and Dorothy's expense.

"No," Dorothy told them flatly.

"War?"

"Don't be morbid, Duo."

"Fire."

"Very funny, Wufei."

"Love."

"Hn."

"Dorothy, let it go."

"Water?"

"Sun?"

"Tent?"

"Relena?"

"WHAT?"

Silently observing, Heero decided that nothing would ever be agreed upon. He rose and crossed to the ice chest. Trowa was soon by his side to help clean the fish they'd caught near the end of their canoe trip. Meanwhile, the suggestions were getting lengthier and lengthier.

"Catalonia."

"Deathscythe!"

"Peace Million."

"Barton Foundation."

"Vice Foriegn Minister."

Heero smirked, noting that he'd caused this new chaos, however unintentionally.

"You really do care about us," Trowa remarked in his quiet way.

"Hn. You too," Heero returned, carefully removing the bones from the fish's flesh.

"None of us has much family. We've become one another's family." Trowa glanced back over at their arguing friends. There was a small pause before Heero continued.

"When we get together like this, it's hard to leave," Heero admitted very quietly. Trowa just nodded his understanding. Nobody else in the world understood him like his fellow pilots. Even Catherine, although the dearest person in the world to him, provided no comfort concerning his war-wrecked past. Here it was easy to truely relax and put their pasts behind, because it was understood what 'putting the past behind' entailed. Heero and Trowa let the silence stretch between them amiably.

"We may never completely fit in with the peaceful world, but we'll always have somewhere to belong," Trowa finally stated. Heero nodded as they finished cleaning the last fish.

Heero noticed Duo sitting back and smiling a very private smile to himself. He knew Duo was thinking the same thing: beneath the tumultuous arguments, battles, and jabs, these people all loved each other very much.

_Tomorrow I have to go home_, Heero thought. He felt saddened but pushed the feeling down.

* * *

"Relena, wake up," Heero said as gently as possible. He hated to wake her when he knew she didn't sleep well most nights at home, but dinner was ready.

"Mmmm," she mumbled, shifting, but not opening her eyes. Heero let out a low chuckle.

"Get up, lazy." She opened an eye to glare at him. "Isn't sloth a deadly sin?"

"Sloth?!" she exclaimed, ready to strangle him. Unfortunately, she was rather well secured within her sleeping bag, so stranglation would have to wait.

"Dinner's ready," Heero told her as she tried to free herself from the cocoon.

"Well, then help me out of this thing. Were you trying to imprison me forever?" He deftly unzipped the bag and released the drawstring that kept her tightly confined. In penance he offered her his hand. She laughed and took it.

"Always the gentleman." She thought back to their time in school together. Although distanced, he'd never struck any of her friends as the deadly assassin type. 'Handsome', 'mysterious', 'shy', 'strong', but never 'trained killer'.

Her thoughts were interrupted as he tugged her out of the tent by her hand. The sun was low in the sky and the campfire crackled merrily. Happy chatter filled the air.

"What's for dinner?" Relena managed through a post-nap yawn.

"Perch and potatoes," Heero revealed, his large, rough hand still enveloping her small, soft one. He stopped abruptly and turned to her. "Are you feeling better?" She was a little taken aback by his continued concern, but she smiled.

"I'm fine, Heero. Really, you can be such a mother hen sometimes." He smirked, apparently satisfied.

"Hey, you two! Get over here before the food gets cold," Hilde reprimanded.

"That could pose a difficulty- Relena's really slow," Heero deadpanned. She gave an indignant squeak which turned into a shriek as he hefted her over his shoulder and casually crossed the rest of the distance to the campfire. The group laughed at Relena's expense as he swiftly, but gently, flipped her back onto her feet.

"Ready," he told them.

"How sweet," Dorothy murmured. Quatre shot her a warning look and she giggled. "Oh, your sweet, too. Don't get jealous now."

"You're thoroughly frustrating," Quatre told her. Her eyes narrowed dangerously but before she could protest he put his arm around her and dragged her closer to him. "I'd better keep an eye on you," he told her gravely. Duo guffawed as a crimson blush spread across Dorothy's cheeks.

"He beat you at your own game!" he exclaimed.

The friends relished the last night of their trip. After the meal had been completed and the pilots were expertly toasting s'mores over the red embers of the fire, Wufei started telling stories. Apparently, he and Sally had gotten themselves into countless messes. After one story, everyone laughing so hard their ribs hurt.

"Buddy, that couldn't possibly get any worse!" Duo laughed, imagining how embarassed Wufei must have been at being caught doing paperwork with Sally in his lap.

"It did. Une walked in next," Wufei just sat remembering how badly he'd wanted to strangle Sally.

"So what did you tell her?" Relena asked, eyes wide with shock and teary from laughing so hard.

"The truth! That Sally's chair was missing and I wouldn't give her mine so she just decided to sit on me and I was trying my best to ignore her and continue with work!"

"Hn," Heero commented humorously.

"Exactly," Wufei moaned. "Une was silent for a full minute before _sympathetically_ recommending we take some vacation time together. Then she apologized both for the intrusion and for not allowing us enough personal time between missions."

"What did Sally do?" Duo wanted to know.

"She just sat there, the WHOLE time," Wufei moaned. "Then after everyone left, she burst out laughing and wouldn't stop. So I punched out for the evening and told her she could have my chair."

"Don't you normally give her a ride home?" Hilde pointed out. Wufei smirked self-righteously.

"I didn't that night," he concluded.

"Poor Sally," Relena breathed sympathetically.

"Poor Sally? Do you know how many messes she's gotten me into?" he asked furiously.

"How can you justify making her walk home- isn't it nearly ten miles?" Quatre defended.

"Une already had enough ideas about our relationship, this was the icing on the cake."

"Nothing could have been _that_ bad," Hilde laughed.

"Oh, no?" Wufei challenged, eyebrows raised. "We were undercover in the Eastern Eurasia region for a few weeks. We stayed in an inn, obviously in the same room. In some regions it's better to pretend to be married if you're going to share a room."

The others nodded their understanding and he continued with a heavy sigh.

"We were fighting about something, and the innkeeper, who mostly didn't speak the common tongue asked if we were having a lover's spat, more or less. Well Sally and her big mouth decided to inform him that we weren't married. So he has a panic attack and tells us we can't stay in the same room anymore."

"To cut a long story short, he ends up dragging in some shaman or priest and marrying us on the spot. We didn't even catch on to the point of the ceremony he was performing until he pushed us both towards the bed and told us to have a happy life together before leaving. Us two morons just kept smiling and nodding through the whole thing, not understanding a word that was spoken."

"You and Sally are married?!" Duo shouted excitedly.

"NO!" Wufei yelled, standing and raising a fist at his friend. "Let me finish you idiot!"

Duo sat back down, subdued.

"Sally and I just stare at each other, trying to figure out if what we think just happened really did just happen. We decide it doesn't matter because we have a mission to complete and some groundwork to do in the morning. So we call it a night. The next morning there's a marriage liscence on our floor- they had slid it under the door. It's signed by certain authorities and stamped and embossed and all that. We figure we can call Une later and have it anulled, so we don't think a thing.

"The second we set foot outside the inn, we're set upon by strangers. In fact the whole community is gathered in the village square. Everyone starts handing us gifts and they start sticking flowers in our hair. Apparently they planned an entire day of festivities for us to celebrate the wedding. We couldn't get away. At the end of the day every face in the village knew us and somehow word had got out that we were Preventers, so the whole 'undercover' thing was completely undermined."

Wufei heaved a sigh.

"Une was so mad at us that she refused to anul the liscence, so Sally and I had to get a formal divorce from the local government. It took three days and they assigned us a divorce attorney. Of course, in the meantime Une had to send somebody else out to complete our mission and by the time they got there, the group we'd been tracking had picked up and run."

"So you're divorced?" Duo asked, sounding disappointed.

"Technically, yes," Wufei admitted. "Although, I'm not sure any of it counts..."

"Legally, it does," Relena told him. He shot her a glare.

"Won't that make it difficult to propose?" Duo questioned.

"Propose?! If I wanted to marry Sally I would have stayed married to her!" Wufei shouted.

"Wow," was all Hilde said. An appreciative silence followed the conclusion of the story. The lapse in conversation stretched on a few minutes, comfortably enough. Quieter, smaller conversations began.

The fire had died down to mostly embers by this point in time and the sun was nearing the horizon. Everyone was tired from the past few days' events and very full from their meal. As the conversation waned from storytelling to small talk, the group stretched out and settled into their seats more comfortably.

"I want to see the sunset," Relena announced abruptly. Nobody was especially interested in moving just then, but Relena was determined. She wanted to witness the splash of colors across the sky as the sun approached the edge of the lake again. It was her last chance before returning to the city. "Please?" she pouted to her friends.

"Alright," Heero said with what my have been a sigh.

"You owe me anyhow, Yuy!" she told him gleefully, then dashed away towards the dunes. Heero looked helplessly at his friends who were clearly staying behind.

"I'm faster," he said. The question 'So why is she even trying?' hung haughtily in the air. He didn't need to say it, it was obvious from the perplexed expression on his face. Wufei gave his friend a smug grin.

"Maybe she enjoys the chase," he said in his most philosophical tone.

"Maybe Sally enjoys ruffling your feathers," Heero replied flatly before taking off in a mild run after his friend in order to catch up.

"He sure got you," Quatre put in amiably. Wufei hung his head, suddenly remembering why he normally kept his tales to himself.

"Where exactly did you say this was," Dorothy asked in her ethereal voice, curiosity evident in her eyes.

"A village called Bigele in Eastern Eurasia."

"Hmm, I wonder..." her voice trailed off as her eyes followed Heero's form. She watched him catch up to Relena and tackle her from behind. Laughter echoed back to the camp on the wind. Heero helped Relena back onto her feet and he helped brush the sand off of her before they continued at a companionable pace.

"If you want to get them married, you might as well keep in mind that Heero already knows the story and probably won't be travelling to Bigele without good reason," Hilde pointed out.

"Who said that was my intention?" Dorothy asked innocently.

"Leave them be. They're happy as friends," Quatre softly interjected.

"They'd be happier as more," Dorothy insisted. "Can't you see it? The magic between them?" she demanded.

"They do have something special," Quatre admitted. Despite his respect for his friends' choices, Quatre sensed something very strong between them that he couldn't ignore. "That doesn't mean they have to go beyond their friendship, though."

"I want what's best for our buddy," Duo cut in. "Who's to say it isn't Relena? It certainly isn't this Gloria chick. If your plan involves getting rid of her, I'm in Dorothy."

"Is it really just to interfere in their affairs?" Wufei questioned, knowing what it felt like to be forced into something against his will. "Wouldn't it be better to let them figure it out on their own?"

"They'll never figure it out on their own!" Dorothy exclaimed.

"Then maybe they aren't meant to be," Trowa pointed out. Dorothy frowned. She knew that was wrong. She was sure that Heero and Relena belonged together.

"Dorothy, why don't you wait until their both single again before you try to implement anything," Quatre suggested, trying to keep her at bay. Dorothy just rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to bed," she sniffed. She paused as she passed Duo. "You and I can talk later," she said pointedly.

* * *

Heero stood with his arms crossed, watching his closest friend playfully flirting with the waves that washed up over her toes. He wore a contented smirk. The breeze coming off of the water ruffled his mussy hair and blew Relena's golden strands back behind her head like streamers. She stopped looking at her feet in order to stare at the colorful display unfolding before her.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, letting the cool air clear her mind of everything. Heero stepped forward, coming to a stop just behind her.

"Sometimes I wish I could share beautiful moments like this with Hale," she told him. Then she turned to face him. "It's useless,though," she confessed quietly. Heero uncrossed his arms, a gesture that encouraged her to continue.

"The truth is, I'm not sure Hale would appreciate the moments that I treasure. A butterfly got into my apartment once. It was a simply beautiful, rare creature. It was just resting on the counter, and I showed him. All he said was that I should leave the screen shut on my balcony door.

"I really care about him, Heero. He's there for me when I need him and he goes above and beyond any woman's expectations. Sometimes he's just a little... I don't know... cold, I guess."

She let out a small laugh and even Heero smiled at the irony of that.

"You grew up in the country, Relena. You were priviledged, but never removed from nature. Hale grew up in the city. Nature hardly exists there. You can't expect him to appreciate it that much. Didn't you say he loves architecture?" Heero prodded gently. Relena nodded.

"Hale is probably equally frustrated by your lack of interest in his passion," he told her. She nodded again and tried to speak, but her eyes filled with unexpected tears, catching her off guard, and only a short gasp ended up coming out. Before the cold feeling of crying could even set in, Heero's warm arms were around her. She sobbed into his shoulder. How could she help but notice that this was much more comforting than crying into a cold pillow.

"I just wonder sometimes if something is wrong with me, Heero. He's so wonderful and good to me and I still manage to find his faults and obsess over them. At the same time, I don't want to marry him and then never be able to watch a sunset again with somebody who wants to see it too!" she cried.

"Whoa, whoa," he soothed into her ear. "Shh. Relena, you're getting way ahead of yourself. He hasn't even proposed," Heero pointed out. Relena gave a small hicupping laugh at that. "Even if he did, and the two of you got happily married, do you think I'd disappear? If ten years down the road you suddenly get the urge to watch the sun setting over the water, you can always call me. I'm not going anywhere."

"But-" she began.

"You don't have to give up your love of nature in order to be with Hale. You don't have to give up our friendship. You can have both. He doesn't have to give you everything you want to be what you need. He's only human."

Relena's tears continued, having been pent up for too long. She was afraid to cry in front of Hale. Heero held her as she let her emotions flow out. He shushed gently in her ear until the sobs subsided into small whimpers.Then he gathered her up into his arms and spun her around until she let out a shaky laugh.

"You crazy Gundam pilots," she said as her feet met earth again. "Always saving the day."

"I like it better when you smile," he told her bluntly, his voice deep and rich, as always.

"Me too," she replied. He bent his head towards hers, pressing their foreheads together gently. A minute passed. The sun was gone know, only the stars shimmered off the surfaced of the lake.

"Come on." Heero wrapped an arm around Relena's shoulder and softly turned her back towards the campsite. "It's time to go home."

**_Hey guys! Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Thank you for reviewing, it really helps motivate me to continue. I love feedback of every kind. Negative, positive, whatever- as long as it's constructive. :)_**

**_SO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!_**

**_-Izzy_**


	7. Not Goodbye

**The Broken Road**

**Chapter 7: Not Goodbye**

A cold mist clung to the edges of the campsite as the reunited prepared for departure. The tents and the food were waiting in a pile to be transported back to the bus. Eerie silence permeated the foggy scene. A goodbye was close at hand- too close for comfort. Everyone went about their business, not speaking to one another except for a few words here and there. It was a grave morning.

"We still have the bus ride!" Duo shouted in aggravation. Activity halted for a moment, but the silence continued.

"Yes," Quatre finally agreed softly, "But the end is so near. We won't be able to spend time like this together for a long while."

So the gloom prevailed. It wasn't until they were headed back towards the bus that the mood lightened. The further they walked, the more the tension dissolved. They came upon the orange vehicle just as the sun had burnt up the last of the morning mist, and like the fog, the morose air had lifted. Some lighthearted whistling began as they loaded their gear into the storage compartment. Quatre hummed an upbeat little tune, throwing in the occasional lyric.

"Just wild beat, communication..."

"What're ya singing, pal?" Duo asked, placing a friendly hand on Quatre's shoulder and startling the poor blonde from his peaceful thoughts.

"I'm not really sure," Quatre admitted, hefting one of Dorothy's designer bags.

"Watch what you're doing with those!" Dorothy screeched, eyes narrowed. Quatre's shoulder's slumped slightly.

"She's impossible to please," he muttered.

"Oh, trust me, I learned that at breakfast," Duo sympathized. Quatre had to bite back a laugh before turning and boarding the bus.

"Hey!" Duo called after his friend indignantly. "A little respect, here? I AM the driver, you know!"

"Speaking of which," Hilde reminded him from her seat inside the bus, "Why don't you drive?"

"All Aboard!" Duo called, bounding into the driver's seat. Of course, all were already aboard, but it didn't matter. The bus rolled into motion and our heroes began their journey home.

* * *

"Did you ever hear about the first time Heero and I met?" Duo asked his friends, taking a seat next to Dorothy. They had hardly been on the road for twenty minutes.

"Duo, shouldn't you be driving?" Quatre gently reminded his friend.

"I got bored," he replied nonchalantly. "Well, did we ever tell you the story?"

"No, Maxwell," Wufei indulged. "What happened?"

Relena and Heero exchanged a glance, recalling the instance. Heero let out a loud unexpected laugh, drawing the attention of his peers.

"What _happened?"_Wufei repeated, actually interested this time. Duo looked a little nervous about discussing it, suddenly.

"He shot me," Heero revealed with a smirk that said he was pleased with himself.

"Twice," Relena added.

"You were there?" Trowa wanted to know. Relena nodded. Dorothy gave her a knowing look that Relena opted to ignore.

"When was this?" Wufei inquired.

"My birthday," Relena laughed. "Just imagine being in my position. I go chasing after Heero to find out what he's up to and Duo shows up to shoot him!"

"Why?" Dorothy asked, hoping for a juicy story.

"We were enemies," Heero put simply.

"We were not!" Duo replied.

"_You _shot _me_," Heero reminded him. Duo shrugged his shoulders.

"You would have done the same to me without second thought."

"Trowa and I have a similar story," Quatre admitted. "We attacked one another in our Gundams."

"Except Quatre ended the fight rather abruptly, telling me that we should work together, not against one another," Trowa explained. He gave his friend a rare smile. There was a group chuckle at that. Typical Quatre.

"Those were pretty tough times," Duo said, his voice unusually grim.

"Thank goodness they're over," Relena said.

"Thank _you_they're over," Heero corrected. She didn't argue with him, knowing he was too stubborn to accept his own role in saving the world. Instead, she rolled her eyes and gave his arm a squeeze.

"So..." Wufei refocused the conversation,"...you shot Yuy. No wonder he's got it out for you."

"Hey! We're even. He stole parts from my Gundam and ran off with them."

"I had a mission," Heero said, excusing his actions.

"Okay, but I saved your life," Duo reminded him.

"When?" Dorothy wondered aloud.

"After he was hit by the backlash of three torpedoes and taken by the Alliance military."

"Ahhh," Trowa nodded knowingly. "Heero loved to blow himself up."

"I told you, Trowa," Heero reprimanded sternly, "I didn't enjoy self-detonating: it hurt like hell."

Laughter once again filled the bus. The breath that flowed from them was like a huge sigh of relief. They never talked about the war, about what they'd been through. Once in a while it came up, but mostly their experiences remained locked up tight in their chests. Even casual, vague conversations like this one released tension.

"Since everybody is in such a marvelous mood," Duo announced, "I have a treat for you." The group emitted a unanimous groan.

"Personally, I'd rather not. Wouldn't it be lovely to talk more about Heero and Relena?" Dorothy asked hopefully. Duo shot her a dirty look, then pretended she hadn't spoken.

"Karaoke!"

"What?" Hilde sputtered. "No way, Duo Maxwell."

"Yes way!" Duo answered gleefully. "To make it even better, we're going to spin the bottle to decide who sings!"

"What if it lands directly between two people?" Trowa questioned.

"Then they have to sing a duet," Duo declared. A hush settled over the bus. Could they just flatly refuse? That was an option, wasn't it? They'd piloted Gundams and withstood persecution by both the earth and colonies- surely they could tell Duo 'No.'

"Everybody in a circle!" For some reason, the pilots obeyed. They watched with morbid fascination as the bottle whirled before them. It came to a decisive halt...

"Trowa..." Quatre deciphered ominously. He was all sympathy as his friend rose nobly to the occasion.

"You don't have to do this!" Hilde cried.

"There has to be another way," Wufei insisted.

"Guys!" Trowa interrupted with a melancholly smile. "If it wasn't me, it would have to be one of you. Please accept this as a token of our friendship."

"We won't forget this," Heero told him gravely. They shook hands.

"What in the sphere is going on?" Dorothy butted in. "It's just Karaoke," she insisted. "You guys weren't this grave when Heero decided to blow up part of the Libra himself as it was entering earth's atmosphere!"

They froze and stared at her like she was daft.

"Gundam pilots don't sing," Trowa explained as if it were common knowledge.

"Wasn't Quatre singing while he was loading the bus?"

They further ignored Dorothy as she protested that they were just being stupid. Instead they returned their attention to Trowa as he stepped up to the microphone.

"Pick your poison," Duo said gleefully, handing Trowa a list of OLD songs. Everyone held their breath as Trowa's eyes darted down the fateful document.

"Number 53," Trowa instructed bravely. Duo immediately went about the business of playing the song for his one-eyed friend. He indicated the screen where the lyrics would appear just as the music began to play. There was a short instrumental intro before Trowa dove head first into the words.

"What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearing; Can't you tell that your tie's too wide?; Maybe I should buy some old tab collars?; Welcome back to the age of jive..."

_I love Billy Joel!_Quatre thought to himself as he got into the song. Trowa had a good singing voice- of course. Quatre had known Trowa was musically inclined when they'd duet-ed together during the wars. Trowa obviously knew the song pretty well. He threw his all into it, completely coming out of his shell. When he finished there was generous applause from all the pilots.

"Bravo, Bravo!" Quatre called. Trowa took a somber bow before seating himself again.

"That was really brave of you, Trowa," Relena told him. He just nodded.

"Next!" was Duo's insistent cry. The bottle whirled again, this time indicating Heero as the next victim. The pilots wondered if he could do this, as introverted as he tended to be. Trowa, at least, was used to performances. Heero was a wallflower, a deadly wallflower, but a wallflower no less. Despite their doubts, Heero stood and took the microphone, battle face donned. Duo passed him his options. They're eyes locked for a second, Duo's challenging, Heero's determined.

"12, LeAnn Rimes, How Do I Live," Heero dictated after a second's glance at the list. His friends exchanged a quizzical glance at one another, clearly unfamiliar with the song.

"I included that one just for you, buddy. You're such a softy!" Duo exclaimed. Heero smirked a little and nodded to cue the music. Several eyebrows raised as a very mellow song began to play. His deep, beautiful voice filled the bus and their ears.

"Isn't a woman supposed to sing this?" Dorothy muttered conspiratorily to Duo.

"Shh, he sings it so well, though," Duo hushed. It was clear he'd heard Heero sing this song before. They sat transfixed as he wove a spell around them with his song. Tears sprang to Duo's eyes and to Hilde's. They took one another's hands and Hilde rested her head on Duo's shoulder. Dorothy sighed helplessly, being the hopeless romantic that she was, imagining Heero and Relena together at last. When the music ended, the trance was lifted.

Heero's song was met with just as much congratulations as Trowa's. The karaoke continued with much laughter and merriment. Relena and Dorothy sang a duet that had originally been by Whitney Housten and Mariah Carey. Dorothy had a surprisingly high vocal range, and while Relena wasn't quite a brilliant singer, she wasn't bad. Hilde sang and old rocker song or two, Quatre sang a ballad. The numbers mounted and before they knew it, the bus was slowing to a halt back at the Central Lake Region Airport.

"Oh, we're back," Relena was the first to voice, although they'd all realized it. Suddenly, the gloom returned with redoubled impact.They all rose. "I suppose I've got a plane to catch..."

"I'll wait with you," Heero offered, dreading the parting. He gave her his hand to help her down the steps. She shook her head, but didn't immediately release him.

"You've got to get home, too."

With heavy hearts, the reunited each stepped off the orange bus they had come to love.

"Make sure you uninstall the Zero system," Quatre reminded Duo in his kindest voice, revealing how sad he was. Duo disconnected a few wires and pulled out a small black rectangle from the steering column. He deftly tucked it into the back pocket of his pants and descended the steps.

Heero and Trowa had finished unloading the equipment and personal belongings. Everything had been distributed by Wufei and Quatre. Dorothy, Relena, and Hilde were huddled together, hugging fiercely and promising to keep in contact. Quatre briefly disappeared as he hauled all of his and Dorothy's belongings back to his car.

Once they were packed, Quatre and Dorothy finished their goodbyes, hugging everyone in turn and murmuring private words. When Dorothy wrapped her arms around Duo, she whispered, "Don't forget our deal." Quatre escorted Dorothy to the car and in a few minutes they were gone.

Trowa offered hugs and hand shakes, telling his friends to come see the circus performance soon- still keeping the offer open for Wufei to be a stunt driver. Wufei in turn gave his unusually sentimental goodbyes. He hopped into his jeep and was immediately on the phone with Sally to get the updates. Relena winced as his tires squealed against the pavement.

"Heero, man," Duo started. He didn't know where to begin. They'd be in touch, but it wasn't the same as being able to hang out together.

"This isn't goodbye," Heero told him flatly. "I promised Gloria that I'd bring her over for a visit. So whenever you're free, let me know." He paused for a moment, then smiled. The two pilots embraced for a few moments before Heero turned to Hilde.

"Keep an eye on him," he told her. He gave her a warm hug, too, while Duo and Relena said their goodbyes. Then Relena turned to face Heero.

"I'll miss you," she said simply.

"You'll have roses to make up for it," he teased. "Hale must be crazy without you right now."

"Gloria likewise." She tucked her hair behind her ear and gave a quiet sigh. "I still can't believe Dorothy threw my phone in the fire pit."

"She's devious alright," Heero agreed with a twinkle in his eye. Only he, Trowa, and Dorothy knew the true perpetrator. "Go catch your flight. I'll write you an email and have it sent before you even get home."

"Alright." She hefted her bag and turned halfway to wave over her shoulder as she headed towards the airport. Heero raised his hand in a similar fashion before they turned their backs on one another. Hilde and Duo watched her leave as Heero climbed into his own car.

"Have a safe trip home," he called before peeling out of the parking lot. Hilde and Duo stood in the vacant space, wondering after their departed friends.

"They didn't even say goodbye," Hilde murmured. She leaned into Duo sadly.

"I think it hurts too much," Duo answered.

**_So, it's been a while since I've written, and I know this chapter is sorta short. Sorry! But I'm back at school now, and therefore back in action. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. You might as well be warned that things are only going to get crazier from this point on in the story. As always, I'd love to hear what you think._**

**_Please Review!! It doesn't have to be much. Just cite your favorite or least favorite part of the story. Give me your predictions or tell me who your favorite character is. Tell me who I've royally screwed up the most or which character you think I nailed. Whatever it is, I look forward to your reviews._**

**_Expect more from me in the near future!_**

**_Izzy_**


	8. Homecoming

**The Broken Road**

**Chapter 8: Homecoming**

* * *

Heero wearily dragged his duffle bag from the passenger seat of his car. Readjusting his shoulders to the weight, he locked the vehicle and moved towards his apartment. His chest felt tight- he knew that was from worrying about Relena. What he really needed now was time alone to sort through his thoughts. It had been a long, eventful weekend.

Heero paused with his key in the lock, noting the sound of a television. He shoved the door open to find Gloria lounging on his couch, a bowl of popcorn in her lap. His bag fell to the floor. Gloria was on her feet instantly.

"Welcome home," she said in a dangerously sweet tone. Heero just stared at her, face blank. She stepped towards him. He crossed his arms. "Remember me? I'm your girlfriend, you _bastard_!" she screamed, hurling the bowl of popcorn in his general direction. He didn't even need to duck, which only infuriated her more.

"What the hell ever happened to 'Call me if you need me'?" she spat. Heero pulled his phone from his pocket. _62 missed calls_. He hadn't even glanced at it after it had been recovered. He should have known her calls would rack up.

"Couldn't you have just left a voicemail?" he commented.

"Couldn't you have just called me back?"

"My phone was found in the fire pit. It was on silent."

"And how exactly did it get there, Heero?"

"Somebody put it there," he answered.

"Why would somebody put your phone in the fire pit?" she demanded.

"Ask Duo," Heero shrugged. For a second she stood there, bug-eyed, looking like she was about to explode. The quiet didn't last.

"YOU ARE SO INCONSIDERATE!" she screamed. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! YOU'RE TRYING TO GET RID OF ME!"

She threw herself back onto the couch, sobbing.

"There is no 'try', Gloria. Failure is not an option. If I wanted to get rid of you, you'd be gone."

"That's _it_!" she exclaimed. "You're sleeping on the couch!"

Heero stared at her in disbelief. He glanced around himself, just to be sure. Yes. This _was_ his apartment. Why was she even here? He was already emotionally spent; he didn't have the will to calm Gloria. He just wanted to unpack and write an email. Instead, he was faced with defusing the bomb that was his girlfriend. Severely irritated, he lifted his duffle bag and turned his back on her, making his way to the laundry room. As he began sorting laundry by color, fabric, and level of soil, he swiftly dialed his best friend.

"Hello?" came her nervous voice.

"Relena," he acknowledged coolly.

"Heero!"

"Miss me yet?" he smirked.

"Of course," she told him. "I take it you miss me, too?"

"Has your flight left yet?"

"Yes, we took off a little while ago," she answered tersely. He chuckled.

"Relax. Nothing will happen. Those in-sphere flights are very reliable. I called because Gloria was waiting in my apartment. Angry. Buy roses on your way home."

"Roses, Heero?" she asked skeptically.

"Fine. Lillies," he teased.

"Don't be cruel," Relena sighed. Then she yawned. Her flight-tolerance sedative was kicking in. Heero smirked.

"Later, Relena. Have a good nap."

"You think you're clever, Mr. Yuy. Good day."

They disconnected. Relena yawned again and settled peacefully into her seat. Heero tried to relax his shoulders as he leaned against the humming washer. He should have stayed in the Lakes Region. He didn't care that it wasn't practical- he'd been happier there than he'd been anywhere else in a long time. Wistful thoughts were not truly in his nature, though. He pushed them aside and prepared to face Gloria.

* * *

A bell at the shop entrance tinkled pleasantly as Relena entered. She stepped uncertainly towards the display case. As she was examining a beautiful bouquet of lillies, a stout woman emerged from the back room.

"May I help you?" the woman began, then a startled expression overtook her features. "Miss Vice Foreign Minister Relena Dorlain, Ma'am!"

"Miss Dorlain is fine," Relena told her uncomfortably.

"Is there something I can do for you? How may I help you? What are you looking for today?" the excited woman inquired.

"Some flowers," Relena tried to answer politely, thinking that this was obvious. This was a flower shop, wasn't it?

"Yes, of course. Which type? Which variety? Which ones?"

"Well-"

"Are they for a wedding?!"

"No, I-"

"An engagement party?!"

"No, I just-"

"For a romantic evening with your secret lover?!"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, I hope I didn't offend," the shop owner replied quickly. Relena felt the urge to run, but she'd been brought up better than that. She would face this woman with dignity and a gracious smile. She nearly cursed as she felt her traitorous feet inching backwards.

"They're just for a friend."

"Oh! A friend! A companion! A girl-pal!"

"No, a _male_ friend," Relena emphasized. The shop owner's eyes widened. Relena felt diplomacy slipping out of her grasp.

"Is he gay?"

"No, he's most certainly not."

"But... flowers?"

"They're friendly flowers. Do you have anything like that?" Relena asked, getting impatient. "Roses, perhaps?"

"Roses? Mercy, no! Not for friendly flowers. And for a man? Ah. Well, let me think."

She crossed around the counter to look at the cooler that held all of her flowers. She tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully, craning her head back and forth to find the perfect blossoms.

"Ma'am, please, I'd like to get home. I've had a very long flight," Relena ground out. The shop owner remained deeply engrossed in her task. Relena resisted the urge to glance at her watch. Instead she stole a glance out the shop's front window to where her driver waited patiently for her.

"I've got it! You know, I can make a gorgeous arrangement using just greens," she declared. "How would that be? It's masculine, but gives the message that you care."

"Fine, perfect, great!" Relena exclaimed in exasperation. The shop owner beamed and set to work. Ten minutes later, Relena was climbing back into the car, feeling like a complete idiot. Dorothy would have a hay-day with this story. She glanced down at the bundle of greens in her lap. It was rather inventive, truly, but in Hale's eyes Relena was sure it was just a pile of weeds. Why, in all the sphere, hadn't she just stuck with roses?

"Heero, this is all your fault," she groaned as the car made its way to her flat.

* * *

"I talked to Duo about us visiting, it's not as if I forgot you existed."

"Oh, so you remembered to talk ABOUT me, but didn't bother to talk TO me?!" she returned.

"I see you every day."

"So? So you're sick of me?"

Heero nearly answered "yes", but caught himself. He speedily recovered and opted for plan B.

"I'm home now," he told her. "I'll spend the day with you to make up for it."

"You think I'll just forget about this?!" she cried indignantly.

"We can watch whatever movie you want to, order pizza, and you can pick the ice cream."

Her crying receded slightly. She lifted her face from the pillow she'd buried it in. It was beat red from having cried for the past hour without stop. Heero watched her silently, waiting for a verbal reaction.

"I can pick the movie?"

Heero gave the slightest inclination of his head.

"And the toppings?"

Again, he nodded stiffly.

"And the ice cream?"

Another affirmative.

"Alright," she decided. "I forgive you. Give me the phone, I'll order the pizza."

Heero knew that giving Gloria free license was a dangerous tactic, but also one with assured success. As he watched her order his least favorite toppings, he almost wished that his weekend had gone on forever. He didn't wish it, because it was a self-indulgent wish, and he'd been trained against such things.

So, Heero ate the ham and pineapple pizza. He curled up on the couch with his high-maintenance girlfriend, watching "Die Hard" and "Sweetheart"- two of his least favorite movies.

Gloria had never understood why Heero hated action movies. She claimed that it was feminine of him. He never argued. What was the point defending himself against such a ridiculous claim? Really, he just despised the senseless killing. He'd had more than his fill of violence, and the scenes that Gloria found most exciting, Heero found dramatic and completely unrealistic. As for the corny romance films- Heero preferred something with a bit of humor in it. "Sweetheart" was dripping with sickeningly sweet scenes and unbelievable proclamations.

Needless to say, the movie night didn't capture Heero's attention very successfully. He had an encore of superman ice cream to look forward to, which was a flavor he loathed. It was obvious that Gloria simply wanted to punish him, but he'd been through worse. Instead of being bothered, he found himself composing his next email to Relena in his head. She'd be very interested in the turtle he'd saved from certain death on the drive home. He wondered how her reunion with Hale had gone and whether or not she'd had to avoid any flying objects.

_Good luck, Relena, _he mused.

* * *

Relena fumbled with her key, trying to balance her hefty bag, the "flowers", and her purse all in one arm. Finally, she dropped everything on the floor, and wrenched the door open. She dragged her belongings across the threshold and slammed the door shut behind her. She was exhausted; her sedative was still eliciting a definite effect.

The lights were off- that meant no Hale. She flipped them on and ventured forward, just to be sure.

"Hale?" she called, feeling foolish. She didn't know whether she had expected some sort of welcome, but she felt relieved that at least she didn't have to face his potential wrath yet. Now, hopefully, she'd get the chance to listen to his many voicemails before she talked to him.

She put the exotic arrangement in a vase, admiring its structure. She'd never have thought to combine bamboo and ferns herself, but then, she wasn't a florist. It looked striking in her blue ceramic vase, and Relena was glad that she'd be able to keep it for herself. She felt slightly guilty for having told the florist that they were only for a friend. The woman's nose was obviously sniffing for gossip, though. The last thing Relena wanted to deal with was a slew of engagement rumors after a long weekend. She was already behind.

As if testament to this, her phone blinked insistently in the corner of her vision. She'd instructed her secretary to forward all important messages to her home phone. Hardening her resolve, she approached the menacing object, ready to accept her fate. _26_ flashed impudently at her in red.

With a sigh, Relena gathered a reliable pen and a large pad of paper to begin sorting through the mess. Perched unhappily on a stool at the counter, she glared at the machine that sat before her. Almost involuntarily, her finger depressed the button labeled 'Play'. The voice of her secretary came speedily at her from the speaker.

"Miss Dorlain, this is Marcy Kish. There is a serious conflict- it's Senator Walton Edwards again about proposal 14. He's staunchly refusing to cooperate until Senator Mitra Tiramen reconsiders his points about the economical issues imminent with the proposal. He's been calling non-stop. I told him you were on private leave, but he was adamant. He certainly won't let anyone but you get involved...."

Marcy's voice went on to detail the contact information and cited the specific sections of the proposal that were under question. Marcy was followed by a message from Hale, reminding Relena to call him as soon as she got back. Hale was followed by a representative from the Green Committee, thanking Relena for her attendance at the last meeting, briefly listing some updates, and requesting her presence at the next meeting. Her dentist called to remind her of an upcoming cleaning. Relena whipped out her planner and checked that she had the appointment written in. Her tailor called to tell her the pink suit was ready for pick-up, but not the blue. Marcy left another message about a call from the Foreign Minister. The Foreign Minister called and left a lengthy message about public relations in the Eastern Eurasia Region. Marcy, again. One of Relena's partners in colony cluster L1 had a question about the phrasing of a contract between L1 and L3. The tailor. The blue suit was ready. The Middle American Legion of Peacemakers called to request her for a speech at their convention.

The messages went on and on.

By the time she laid down for bed, Relena's head was swimming with all the things she had to do the next day, all the calls she had to make, and all the people she had to please. Hale was the last thing on her mind, and her call to him was left forgotten. She tossed and turned for nearly an hour before sheer exhaustion won out.

* * *

Heero was vacuuming up the popcorn Gloria had poured all over his carpet the night before. Thankfully, he knew she'd be sleeping in until noon, since she'd stayed very late watching movies. So, for the moment, his apartment was peaceful. Late nights didn't stop Heero from having early mornings.

It was a Tuesday. Heero had a mess of lectures to attend all morning, but he had an hour before the first one started. Although he had just finished his midterms, he was back full force again. Stowing the vacuum in the closet, he straightened the cushions on the couch. Gloria's favorite bracelet was stuck beneath one. He pocketed it and made a note to return it.

Satisfied with the condition of his apartment, he began packing his school bag. One heavy textbook followed another as he prepared for his classes. Finally, he packed his laptop in with the rest. Fully ready, Heero pulled the straps of his bag over his shoulders. He turned of his light, shut his door, and locked it.

As he crossed the parking lot, he gently stretched his calves. Up ahead, the commuter bus that went to campus flashed its lights and pulled out into traffic. Heero broke into a run, glad to be on time. His mornings always worked like clockwork. He hit the sidewalk, carefully adjusting his posture so that his heavy pack wouldn't shift as he ran. Almost as soon as it had pulled out, the bus had to stop at a traffic light. Heero mused that better planning could prevent such a thing. As he did every morning, he ran past the bus. The driver gave him a cheerful wave. He saluted her.

The first few mornings that Heero had begun this routine, the aged driver of the 241 had thought he was running to catch her. She kept opening her doors as he approached the light. He had paused to see if something was the matter. Each time, seeing that she expected him to board, he shrugged and continued on his way. Naturally, he'd told Relena about it. She insisted that he speak directly to the woman and explain his actions. So, at the end of the week, Heero had gone out a few minutes earlier and boarded the bus. He explained that he preferred to run, that he was studying to enter med school, and that his route was faster, anyhow.

Martha, the driver, hadn't believed a word of it. She suspected that it was only pride that prevented him from the boarding the bus once it had departed. She told him that he was too young to be studying for med school. She was also certain that running to campus couldn't be faster than taking the bus.

"Besides," she had told him sternly, "it's just too far." Heero had shrugged. He wasn't interested in explaining his past to this woman, and he certainly wasn't worried about whether she thought him a liar or not. Apparently, Martha _was_ worried about it, though. So he stayed on the bus and talked to her on the way to campus. She wanted to know how his route varied from her own. He told her which alleys were short cuts on foot, and told her that as a long-distance runner, six miles was an easy trip. Still skeptical, they'd arranged a friendly bet. On Monday, Heero would run, as usual. If he arrived at the bus stop on campus before her, she'd cover the fee he'd paid to ride that day. If she got there first, he'd have to ride the bus for a week.

On Monday, it rained heavily. Heero was unabashed, as his bag was completely waterproof. He made his way to the bus stop. The usual commuters were bunched around the door, anxious to board the bus and be out of the rain.

"Martha," Heero had called.

"Heero? Dear, we don't have to race today!"

"Rain has never stopped me before," he answered confidently. "Your route will be extra slow today."

"How do I know you won't catch a ride around the corner with a friend?" Martha asked suspiciously. Heero just stared at her. Martha finally nodded, seemingly satisfied with his integrity. "Alright. Let's see what you've got."

The sidewalks had been especially bare, as they always were in poor weather. Heero made his way easily towards campus. He jumped the large puddle in the alley between the bakery and dry cleaner's on Main. He had to dodge a large umbrella that took up most of the sidewalk, but those were his largest obstacles along the way.

At the bus stop on campus, Heero waited patiently for the 241 to pull up. He watched the 234 and the 268 come and go. Finally, Martha arrived. She gaped at him. Then she jokingly blamed the weather. As Heero had predicted, her route had been unpleasantly slow. So they'd had a rematch, then another. Martha was very impressed by him. She declared that he was always welcome on the 241 if he wanted someone to talk to.

Once in a while, she still opened her doors for him at the traffic light. He'd board and they would catch up. Heero wasn't a natural conversationalist, but Martha was always full of questions. She'd even invited him to a family picnic once. Over the years, they'd become fairly good friends. Martha had even turned down an offer for a different route a year ago.

Heero picked up the pace as the buildings of campus came into sight. Students were swarming the sidewalks, all comparing exam experiences and stories from the weekend. Heero avoided the crowds by cutting across the lawns. He had to pay homage, anyhow. In the center of the grassy expanse that spread before the main building of the university was a statue. It was the image of a man with one arm raised to the sky and the other held outstretched before him.

"Good Morning, Treize," Heero said. He inclined his head slightly towards the noble figure. He stood in silence for a short while, then he smiled. "We still have peace." His smile remained as he made his way to the first lecture of the day.

Classes, for Heero, meant plenty of solitude. He usually read the textbook while listening to the lecture and taking notes on his laptop simultaneously. The other students were intimidated by this and kept their distance. Today's lesson was on wounds caused by explosions. Heero didn't bother to take notes.

A new student, most likely a transfer, chose to sit next to Heero. She noticed that he was deeply engrossed in a textbook for another class.

"You'll fail the test if you don't listen," she whispered haughtily, not daring to take her eyes of the projections of wounds that the professor was displaying. Heero ignored her and her frantic note taking.

"Aren't you even going to look? How will you know the difference between a wound caused by flying shrapnel and the ones that split from impact alone? You won't know the difference between a laser burn and an ultra-heat missile burn. Really, aren't you too young for this class, anyhow? Are you sure you're in the right place? You don't even have the right book." She'd stopped writing and turned to glare at him pointedly. Annoyed, Heero finally looked at her.

"_This_ is caused by shrapnel," he told her, pointing to a scar on his left forearm. He turned, rolling up his sleeve and exposing a scar on his shoulder. "_This_ is from impact. The one on my hand is from a laser," he jabbed pointedly at the back of his neck, "but _this_ one is from a UHM."

She shut her mouth and turned her attention back to the lecture. Somebody behind them was snickering. Heero ignored them all and returned to his textbook. This lecture took place simultaneously with his History of Medicine class, so he had to do both readings at the same time. He simply did not have time for snotty classmates and crazy girlfriends.

* * *

It was Friday before Relena realized that she still hadn't seen Hale. Marcy had come in to offer Relena more coffee, but on her way out, she made an offhanded comment about the empty vase on the table near the door.

"Oh, curse all the sphere!" Relena exclaimed, startling her secretary. "Marcy, I forgot to call him. I've just been so busy!"

And she had. Relena had hardly slept since her return from the Lakes Region camping trip. She'd been pouring over documents, calling representatives, senators, and business professionals.

"You'd best call him right away, then," Marcy insisted, thinking fast.

"I simply can't. I've got so much work to do and he'll want to go to dinner tonight!"

"I'll call for you and leave a message with his secretary. She never gives him your messages. Don't worry about a thing, Miss Dorlain."

"Thank you, Marcy. Really. You don't know how grateful I am," Relena sighed. Marcy just smiled.

"I'll be back with more coffee shortly."

Relena bent back over her work, carefully reading through the new adjustments to Proposal 14. She prayed that both Senators Tiramen and Edwards would be satisfied. _Why doesn't the Foreign Minister ever do this,_ she wondered irritably. The Foreign Minister rarely appeared in the office. He spent most of his time meeting with diplomats in the colonies and all across the sphere. Relena was grateful for being grounded, but the paperwork was tiresome.

She rubbed subconsciously at her eyes, which were dry from lack of sleep. The only thing that kept her going was the constant intake of caffeine. Finally, she skimmed through the final page of the proposal, confident that the changes would satisfy both parties. She slid the thick stack of papers into an envelope and pinned a note to it, outlining exactly who needed to get the document from Marcy.

Leaning back, Relena examined her cluttered desk. She wasn't sure which documents she wanted to start on, next. They were all marked "Important", but none of them seemed pressing to her.

A soft sound alerted her to a personal message on her phone. She wondered if it was Hale, calling her back after all. Reluctantly, she pulled her cell from her coat pocket. How could she explain to Hale that she was completely spent and had no energy for dinner? They had yet to celebrate the success he'd had on his all-important case. Relena was pleasantly surprised to find that the message was not from Hale at all, but from the trusty Heero Yuy.

_'Relena. You're working too hard. It's Friday. Go home.'_

"Easier said than done, super Heero," Relena joked quietly. She smiled in spite of herself, and quickly texted him back.

'_Heero. I've got a job to do, and a lot of work.'_

It was a matter of a few moments before his reply appeared before her eyes.

'_Take it with you. You have a home office. Finish your work in those horrible bunny slippers.'_

Relena laughed aloud. She glanced up to see Marcy at the door, an eyebrow raised. Relena weighed her options thoughtfully. Then she smiled.

"Miss Dorlain, you've been grim all week," Marcy commented. "It's good to see your spirit back."

"I got a little overwhelmed, Marcy. I'm going home early. If you could take care of these documents before you go home, I'd appreciate it," Relena explained, indicating the envelope. Marcy grinned. She knew that Relena had been working very long hours all week, staying long after everyone else had called it a night.

"Don't take too much with you. It'll still be here in the morning," Marcy told her knowingly. Relena smiled, selecting five or six stacks of paper from her desk and shoving them in her briefcase. She shrugged on her coat and turned off her office light.

There was nothing she wanted more than to curl up in bed with her bunny slippers while she went through the rest of her work. How Heero knew she was at the office, she wasn't sure. How he knew exactly what she needed when not even she was aware of it was even more mystery, but for the time being, she was just glad to have him in her life.

* * *

**Alright, so I know it's been forever and a day since I last updated, but stuff happens. Anyhow, if you're still out there, show me some love :)**

**-Izzy**


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